Ann's Story
by Riyu Shimoji
Summary: Story centers around Ann and her life; both Jack and Cliff seem to drive her crazy and only one will steal her heart... HM64
1. Chapter 1

Looking up into the silky blackness of the jeweled night sky, Ann shifted on the picket fence and sighed. Her reddish-blond braid swished behind her back and she smoothened out her somewhat-wrinkled overalls. The cool breeze tickled her cheeks and wafted the sweet scent of the grass to flood her senses. Ann had never known a greater happiness, but something dark seemed to swallow up her soul, and subconsciously she fingered the necklace her mother had given her when she was born. She had never known her departed mother but assumed that a mother was what she was missing in her life, but truly it was not so.  
Ann was turning sixteen soon and approaching the marriageable age for girls in the village she inhabited, and her father Hall secretly wanted to see her married. Her older brother Grayson (Gray for short), approaching twenty, and Hall had both known the mother, who had passed away shortly after childbirth, and were therefore very touchy about Ann's present position and her future.  
Tonight was the evening of the first of summer, and not only the annual Fireworks Display, which Ann had forgotten, but a month and twenty- seven days from the next Local Horse Race. It had been a long time since any of the horses from Green Ranch had won a race and that was partially why she was depressed and apprehensive.  
A moment's pause brought what seemed to be a pink star shooting up the sky. It trailed beautifully, then burst into a millions of roze-quartz gems. Ann thought that, being pink, it was like someone's heart filling to the brim and bursting with happiness, and for that moment she also felt happy about capturing that state of mind, whatever it meant. It was like something that could be undefined, a new emotion. When it faded out, amethyst and about as visible as the sun at this hour, the girl sighed and wished she could feel that way, despite how Hall and Gray always called her a firecracker.  
"How beautiful..." she said as she watched gloomily. Her hands were probably splintered by now against the rough picket fence. Not only did she not care, but she could not feel it; having helped out on the ranch since as long as she could remember, her hands were worn and callused. She was already at the point in her young life when strenuous labor was a joy to her, so in these recent years a repast like this Fireworks Display seemed so strange. Then Ann remembered her state of contentment with the animals, her safety, and having a supportive family.  
"Wait, what am I thinking?" she blurted, then blushed and screwed up her eyes and face, as was her habit when she was confused. "I should be happy right now. Green Ranch is doing great, even if we don't win the horse races! Besides, nothing's better than being in good spirits!" Ann grinned to herself, swung and dangled her legs childishly from the fence, then continued on watching every color imaginable soar into the sky and explode into candy-colored rain. Being such a boring countryside village, this place barely saw any pink or purple. Ann's milky face brightened as it reflected these hues.  
Her face wilted again when the last speckle faded away into nothing, and she hopped off the fence. For the first time she thought more deeply about why her dad and brother never joined her during the first of summer. Hall, every year, was "conveniently" going over the inventory of the shop he was running, which was excusable, and Gray never came simply because he was a social disaster and usually very solemn; in Ann's eyes, an idiot. So for a very long time she had watched the Fireworks Display alone, but this time she suspected that maybe it was because of the pink fireworks that represented happiness.  
Having wished her father and brother good night, she shuffled to her room and undressed for bed. Midway she noticed the gold cross necklace around her neck, kept it on, and then knelt to pray before bed. Reflecting on so many things put her in a state of confusion and although she was not religious and she went to church rarely, Ann found praying to God a savehaven from negative feelings. Besides, she would have nothing to lose by praying. There might be a God or there might not be. Praying would be the only way to find out.  
Then, pulling the sheets up over her head, she gave a heaving sigh before falling asleep quickly. 


	2. Chapter 2

"I made breakfast!!!!" she hollered cheerfully in the kitchen the next morning. Her clear voice rang out and bounced off the walls of the kitchen and she set a platter of eggs on the table before Hall and Gray.  
Her brother looked down at the platter before him and his face had gone paler than usual. His eyes swiveled toward his father under his blue cap. "Dad," he said nervously. "Dad."  
"Hm?" grumbled Hall with his customary scowling look, holding a newspaper in front of him while pulling at his auburn mustache.  
"Dad, look what Ann made." Gray's eyes moved onto the platter in front of them.  
"N-nice job, Ann," Hall stammered, exchanging looks with his son.  
"I'll get the orange juice!" Ann exclaimed and went off.  
"Dad?" Gray looked over at Hall again, clearing his throat and busying his hands with his jacket. "What is that?" He pointed at the platter, specifically at the liquid goo that was running across it.  
"I think she tried to cook eggs today," their father sighed. Ann had always been a terrible cook. Why they let her continue cooking anyway, they didn't know. Hall said something about not crushing her spirits and they kept their mouths shut, so from then on Ann continued trying to make things. "Let's... let's just try to eat them and say nothing."  
"You mean like we always do?" Gray's solemn face returned as his head tilted. The shadow of the front of his cap covered his face like usual and he went back to being silent. His eyebrows furrowed and he turned his fork sideways in an attempt to scoop some of the runny egg onto his plate.  
Ann returned with hearty amounts of orange juice in two glasses after removing her messy apron. She saw them chewing at a different rate than usual and they gulped the juice down quickly. She smiled, thinking happily that she was successful for once.  
"I'm---I've got to go, now," Gray declared in his soft, stern voice. "I think I'm going to be sick." He dashed for the door to get a head start on various chores.  
"Good thinking," Hall declared and dashed behind his son, at his heels. He twirled the keys to the shop in his callused hands.  
Ann cleaned up after them silently, wondering if it was absolutely necessary that she learned to cook. She thought of Elli, the old bakery master's daughter, who was very feminine and was an excellent cook. For a moment Ann was thinking that she had a complex since she couldn't be like that. Maybe a devotion to animals and being so diligent about the farm chores just wasn't enough. Ann thought of the grim looks on Hall and Gray's faces and shook her head.  
When she made her way outside it was already about 4:30 AM (on a normal basis they woke up at 4 to get a head start) and Gray was already in the barn, feeding the animals. She followed him in and started collecting fodder for the sheep, her favorites. Getting quality wool excited her very much because she picked up knitting as a new hobby recently, and for this reason she cherished them.  
"No, no, that's okay, Ann." Gray took the pile of hay out of her hands and fed them to the animals himself. "You cooked this morning. I'll do this."  
Ann beamed. Gray was very annoying, but at the same time she was happy because he spoiled her so much. Just recently she tried being an adult about it and paying her brother back, exchanging favors equally, but to no avail, it hadn't worked. Gray would still do most of the chores, cook, spoil her, and still tease her whenever he pleased.  
She went out to the horses' stables and sat on the gate to the stall of her favorite horse, Cliff. She brushed him, talked to him, and scratched between his ears. She especially liked the silky coat that ran down his narrow face. Ann knew Cliff had full potential as a race horse but for some reason he was always losing. She never stopped believing in him, but now she just felt more distant from a victory than they'd ever been. Cliff's large, clear and truthful eyes couldn't hide how hard he'd tried to be all that she believed he could be. The horse stared back at her lovingly and with the same hope. Being so preoccupied with everything else, Ann never paid things like this any thought before, but she sincerely hoped that this feeling that washed over her right now was not a premonition. 


	3. Chapter 3

Walking out of the Green Ranch and on her way to the mountain for a break, she passed by the Harvest Farm which had recently been abandoned since the death of the kind old man who'd been running it, and then passed down to his grandson who was supposed to be restoring it. Ann didn't catch sight of the grandson, Jack, but she did find Bright, the pony she'd given him just last spring. Surprisingly, he'd grown very big. She imagined that, if trained, Bright could one day be just like Cliff. She thought she might pay a visit to encourage him to race Bright in the fall, even though Gray would probably be really upset about that. Still, if a horse that came from Green Farm won the Local Horse Race, who knows what would be said about their farm.  
"Hey!!" Ann hollered when she saw Jack, who had just taken a break from ploughing the fields. Right now she didn't mind the fact that he didn't have many animals yet, because it pleased her enough to see him busying himself and apparently taking the work seriously. She would have wanted to tell her father and brother, but she privately knew that they doubted someone from a big city could restore a farm.  
Jack wore a blue cap like her brother's but he turned it backwards so that the shadow fell on the ground behind his shoes. He wore overalls and carried a white handkerchief that dangled from his pocket. He waved to Ann silently, then came up to her.  
"What can I do for you?" he asked in an adolescent's voice. He was only about a head taller than she was, and she had to squint in the sunlight to see his face. Jack was still thin and he had beads of sweat on his face. He still hadn't gotten used to the work around here and Ann thought he looked like such a character.  
"Bright sure has grown big," she announced her observation.  
"Yeah." What else could he have possibly said?  
"You seem to be off to a good start. Why don't you gallop him sometimes? Horses really like that and it's good training for the Local Horse Race in the fall." Ann was not shy and rocked back and forth on her heels, tucking her hands into the pockets of her baggy overalls. She was wondering exactly what he was thinking, from the way he was looking down at her face and her eyes. It felt weird to be watched like this. It was as if he could read a secret that she'd been trying with all her might to hide. She hoped that he wasn't having the feeling of "I know you're better than me but I'm still going to try to talk to you like an equal".  
"Really? Well, I'll do that." Jack had brown eyes, just like the color of his hair. His bangs hung down and fell into his eyes and he had a habit of brushing them out occasionally. The poor guy didn't seem to have a clue, but Ann thought he was okay nonetheless because of the keen interest he seemed to show in Bright.  
"Make sure you brush him everyday and give him exercise a lot. He really is a good horse." Ann's eyes met his again and she felt strange somehow. There was no telling just what he would turn out to be. "Well, I'll come see you again soon, okay? Bye!" she said politely and gave him a light punch on the shoulder before pivoting and walking out the gate to his farm.  
I wonder what I did was right, Ann thought to herself, still feeling quite strange and pondering her tomboyish self and the awkward ways in which she tried to be nice. Her red and yellow tennis shoes sifted through the untilled soil, kicking up dull brown clouds that disappeared into the early summer air. She stuffed her little white hands into the pockets of her overalls and kept her eyes on her steps as she walked parallel with Jack's picket fence, unaware that she was walking in the wrong direction and back toward Green Ranch. Suddenly her thoughts drifted onto going into the village to buy a few things instead of watching birds in the mountain and then she saw a flash of brown. Her bottom hit the ground hard and her palms burned as the gritty soil made friction against her skin.  
Ann looked up and saw a young man perhaps slightly older than Jack. A sadistic smile spread across his handsome face and blond bangs fell into his sharp, midnight eyes. The rest of his hair was a dark cinder brown and pulled back into a neat ponytail. His walking gait was confident and seemingly-tough, considering the way he carried his fists. A crude knife hung from his brown vest and it made Ann's eyes widen. He looked like a poacher.  
"You ought to watch where you're going!" exclaimed the strawberry- blonde, getting to her feet and brushing the dust off her overalls in a masculine way. Subconsciously she smoothened back her tousled hair and returned to the boyish way of stuffing her hands into her pockets.  
"What a way to say 'excuse me'," the character smirked with his eyebrows in a strange challenging position.  
"Any gentleman in Flower Bud Village ought to know to yield to a lady. Obviously you're new around here," Ann said in defense.  
"What lady?" he teased her, stretching out his muscular arms in a casual way and then hooking his thumbs through the belt loops of his brown cargo pants. Ann didn't like the way his eyes skimmed over her, and she knew that he spotted how the only feminine thing about her was the gold necklace of her mother's. "Surely a lady would at least say 'excuse me'." She was really starting to hate his sarcasm now, and she struggled to see the goodness behind his teasing her so much. This guy reminded her of Gray without his kind "big-brother-ness".  
"Now that's being unkind," Ann's face turned angry. "I hope you're just a lost and confused tourist and not planning to stay in Flower Bud Village, because if you are, then you're really going to have to learn the ways around here!"  
"I was only teasing you," replied the man, deciding it was best to walk away from this funny, rough, yet oddly-charming girl he'd remember as long as he was here. "I've got important things to do now. By the way, my name's Cliff." He began to walk around her and head toward Moon Mountain.  
"Cliff?" Ann nearly choked. Contrary to what she'd been meditating on for a while, a bomb dropped to the bottom of her heart and exploded. Her connotation of that name was now completely ruined. She didn't notice that she was wincing and she turned around to face him with a pained look on her face, but all she saw was his backside as he walked away.  
Feeling like she was having a heart attack, Ann clenched a fist to her chest and squeezed the little gold charm as if trying to break it, then she walked into Flower Bud Village to buy a new brush for the sheep and hopefully get her mind off that weird guy. 


	4. Chapter 4

The 14th of summer came faster than anyone thought it would, and Ann rose early on her sixteenth birthday. Her strawberry-blond hair spilled out to her shoulder blades as she flipped it out of the yellow shirt she was pulling over her head. After dressing into the usual overalls and braiding her hair with a ribbon, she was thinking of her agenda for the day. Hall and Gray let her go out and enjoy herself on this occasion and she decided to go birdwatching. Happiness rose and splashed its light upon her just as the early-morning sun did, and before heading outside she saw a bouquet of flowers and a huge cake from the Flower Bud Bakery waiting for her on the kitchen table. Ann rarely ever caught herself blushing before, and she did so as she picked up the flowers delivered from Lillia's shop and smelled them, enjoying the feminine fragrance.  
When she was out of the house she was skipping along the picket fence that bordered Green Ranch and ran a stick against it all the way down. Her pace slowed down as she neared the Harvest Farm, and she leaned over Jack's picket fence in hopes of catching a glimpse of what he was doing. Her spirits subconsciously drooped as she saw the open pasture and no Jack, then she hung her head. She continued skipping on, though, just not with her usual happy stride.  
Ann sprinted all the way to Moon Mountain and then found her favorite sycamore tree behind the carpenters' little log cabin, next to the opening of the cave. She was surprised to see that savage young man that she met yesterday, standing under a tree with a brown bird settled on the muscle of his arm. The image of him made her heart glow with the falcon, and not to mention his attractive muscles, but shattered when she noticed that in his other hand, he held a young white rabbit by its ears. The little rodent kicked its feet desperately and struggled to get its ears out of Cliff's tight, painful grip.  
"No, no, no!!!!!!!!"Ann cried, running up to him. "What are you doing!?" Not thinking, she caught Cliff by surprise and kicked him in the shin. Inside, she really hoped she had hurt him because she retracted her foot in pain.  
"OW!!!!!!!!" roared Cliff loud enough for the two mountain carpenters to hear and stare at him for. "What are you doing?" He bent to rub his shin and the bird settled himself on a branch of the sycamore. "That's Cain's food!"  
"Oh, Cain, is it?" Ann squinted up at the falcon. "That evil thing? Although I don't expect him to realize that him eating this rabbit is a result of your heartlessness!!" Her voice became coarse as she shouted to the man on the ground, and sharp, bitter tears stung her eyes.  
"Hey!!" Cliff sprung back up and met her eye level. "Look, I understand that you're trying to be all noble, but really! Cain has to eat too!! Just like this rabbit! It may seem cruel to a sheltered girl like you, but that's really how life works: hunt, or be hunted. The weak are only prey for the stronger, and Cain here-"  
"I know, I know!!" shrieked Ann, covering her ears with her hands. "But I still don't like the idea!" She pulled the white rabbit out of Cliff's grasp, stroked its little ears, and set it running for its life. Then she assumed a tough, defiant stance, as if daring him to act like that again.  
"That was Cain's food..." he complained, then looked at the bird. "Well, I guess this means I'll have to catch you another fish. Come on." As he began walking, Cain flew out of Ann's sycamore and followed his owner to the river. By this time, Cliff had his back turned and couldn't see tears streaming down the side of Ann's face.  
"Ann? Is that you? What's wrong?" Then she hoped that it wasn't the voice of whom she thought it was. Turning around to see Jack behind her, she wiped her tears messily on the palms of her hands and smiled for him.  
"Nothing. Are you off today?" she asked him casually, keeping her red eyes on the sycamore.  
"Just for a little while. I'm already finished with my work for today." He tilted his head to get a better glance of her, clear brown eyes wondering what was really going on inside her mind.  
"Today is my birthday," she proudly announced, choosing to forget all about Cliff and his stupid bird. "I've been allowed to go birdwatching today. And this," she looked up again, "is my favorite tree. I come here all the time when I go up to the mountain."  
"Well, then," started Jack, who knelt to pluck up a pretty moondrop- grass flower on the ground. "This is for you, on your birthday. I'm sorry it's not much, but...."  
"A birthday gift?" Ann's face lightened up, or perhaps it was reflecting the yellow flower. "It's okay. You've made me happy today. Thank you." Although she did feel rather awkward about being given a flower. It was, after all, the first time any guy outside her family had given her one. She felt like she gave him the impression that she was a feminine girl who liked flowers. Not that she didn't like flowers, but she had never given it much thought. Besides, flowers were such a Popuri-thing. And Popuri was obviously one of the prettier, more feminine girls in the village.....  
"It's nothing, really it isn't. I'll just make sure I get you something better next year." Jack smiled politely. "Wow... I didn't realize a sycamore could grow to reach so high."  
Next year? Ann lingered on that thought, not hearing the next part about the tree. Something better than a flower? What could that possibly be?  
"Can you climb?" Jack turned his head and faced her, with those inquisitive boyish eyes. Jack had the eyes of a young man on a journey for the first time, so innocent and curious. His eyes were dark and those light brown bangs hung in his eyes again. Ann didn't want to make him uncomfortable, but for some reason she felt really urged to brush them out of his eyes and tuck them under his blue cap. He was still thin and milky- white, and when he did have color he was sunburned. Summers would be brutal to the poor guy, if he was going to stay to see more than one. Not a single part of his skin was scarred that Ann could see, but she knew he was serious about restoring his dear grandfather's farm, and he looked like a caring person nonetheless.  
It was strange because Ann had never even taken the time to look for the sweetness in a guy. For a long time she thought she wanted to meet someone rugged and tough, but the more Cliff showed her that, the more she was drawn to tender Jack.  
"Of course I can climb!" she grinned but her boyish ego snapped in. "It's one of the best things to do in the summer. You should try... if you didn't have so much work to do."  
"Yeah, I know." Jack's eyes fell humbly on his shoes, then he glanced at his watch. "Oh, no, look! I've been out here a bit too long. Well, happy birthday, Ann, and I'll see you later!"  
When she looked up, all she could see was the back of him running back toward his new home. She sighed, leaned on the tree and wondered about him for a little while. Shadows streaked her face in the shape of tree branches and leaves, and the sun was making its way toward the opposite side.  
"Noon," she observed, then subconsciously headed toward home as she stroked the wide yellow petals of the moondrop flower, somewhat in a trance. 


	5. Chapter 5

Weeks passed and the summer festivities dwindled down. As late summer tumbled into fall, Ann was busying herself more than ever. Along with the age sixteen came more responsibilities and preparations to make for the upcoming Local Horse Race on the 28th of the fall. Cliff--the horse--really wasn't getting much better skillwise, having been living in fool's paradise. All summer long the horse had been treated as if he was a winner already, spoiled and not trained as often as usual. Ann really worried about that.  
But it was also strange how the more she went into town, the more she would get disappointments and encouragement all at the same time. She kept running into Cliff frequently up in Moon Mountain and was now purposely avoiding her favorite birdwatching location chiefly to refrain from seeing him and arguing with him. For weeks they hadn't gotten along at all, and she found that the blame was on her behalf too for choosing to dispute over even the smallest things. It was unfathomable to Ann as to why someone who really likes animals would want to kill them off and then observe them the next day ("The falcon is an amazing predator and it can hunt for itself without you killing off half the animal population of Flower Bud Village!", etc.). But when not arguing with Cliff, she would also see Jack during her spare time. They enjoyed themselves and Ann had reason to believe that they had a friendship going on. He was quite cute, and she could have a lot of fun with him. Jack, curious as a schoolboy, would ask the cutest and smartest questions about various birds and animals that he would see, and was sure to point out all of them, so as not to let her miss any.  
On the 25th of summer she was going about her skipping happily, thinking of going up to see her best friend Karen when she, yet again, passed Jack's farm and saw him working, ploughing out the fields again. Every so often he would turn his cap around and wipe beads of sweat off his forehead. His arms drooped and judging from his position, his back hurt.  
"Awww," Ann said, then she went up to him, becoming self-conscious and trying not to walk in her usual tomboyish sort of way. "Ummm...." and then, when she finally found something to say, "I heard it's your birthday today. From the Potion Shop dealer, I mean. You seem to really be working hard. Here, why don't you have some of this?" She handed him a slice of the strawberry shortcake that she'd brought from Elli's bakery and he accepted it graciously as he looked up.  
"Wow, thanks! I love this!" Jack's clear brown eyes widened and he neatly broke off a piece and put it in his mouth. Ann noticed his childish appetite but the way he delicately handled his food; it was quite.... well, cute.  
"I didn't know you like sweets," she grinned.  
"Yeah, don't you?" His eyes lit up like those of a child. Ann smiled dreamily, unconscious.  
"Hmm? Oh, yeah! Gotta love cake, candy....." her voice trailed off, then she snapped to attention. "Oh! I... uh.... didn't mean to keep you like this. Well, happy birthday!" She spun around and walked off fast enough so that he couldn't see her blush. Why was it that she was suddenly blushing and smiling all the time? He made her happy, but it wasn't the same as the fun kind of happiness she'd experienced when they were up in the mountain together.  
  
That night when she was at home, she sat in her pajamas, curled up on her bed and hugging the stuffed horse that Gray got her from a horse race held when she was a child. That's when it hit her in the face--- a child. She was feeling strange simply because she was growing up. Now that she was sixteen, life couldn't be so simple for her anymore as to play up in the mountain with Jack (who knows how much older he was?) or pet horses and sheep on the farm. She remembered how Hall had sometimes told her that her feelings would change over the years-- is this what she was feeling? In the lamplight of her room, these thoughts frightened her and she seized a hold of her stuffed horse's leg and threw it across the room. The toy landed lifelessly on the carpet. Her blue eyes stayed fixed on it for awhile.  
"What is going on with me?" Ann half-whispered to herself. She began to feel a burst of compassion in her heart and she dashed off the bed to retrieve her favorite item, and stroked the horse's little head. Besides, it had been a gift from Gray that she'd loved so much and grown up with. And anyway, it's not my place to take it out on a gift from my brother that I have a crush on Jack......  
WHAT?!?!?!?!?!  
Even though she hadn't said it, Ann clamped her hands over her mouth. "I do NOT have a crush on Jack!!!!!" she burst out, then gasped and checked outside her bedroom door to see if her dad or brother had been in earshot. With a sigh of relief, she placed her hands on her wild beating heart and slid down the door when she closed it, leaning against it.  
The cross pendant around her neck tickled her chest again, and she examined it even closer. "Mother...." she subconsciously spoke to it, "what did you mean in giving me this?" Over in her mind she replayed the conversation Hall had told her as a bedtime story in her childhood.  
-Ohhh, is this my little daughter Ann? Come on, Hall, let me hold her! She's so sweet. Here.... *takes off necklace* this is for her..... No, no, let her have it! My first little girl.... *places the pendant around the baby's neck*  
-What is this for, dear?  
-Well, she is my first little girl, after all. A growing girl should always have a cross necklace in hand so that she can have faith and trust that she can hold onto her dreams. In knowing this, God will be there for her when she is in confusion. It's one of the best gifts a mother can give to her daughter.  
It was just too bad that an hour later, she would find out from the midwife that she would be dying and didn't have much longer to live. But Hall would never tell her that as part of her favorite bedtime story.  
Kneeling before her bed to pray, tears almost appeared in her eyes, even though she had never known her mother. Still, it was not only this that affected her emotionally--- the cross necklace was making everything so clear. 


	6. Chapter 6

"MARIA!!!!!!!!!!!" her voice rumbled across the part of the town where the Flower Bud Library was located. "Oh, gosh, I can't believe you!! How many times have I told you to just say no!!!!!"  
In the midst of this dramatic scene, there were tears in little Maria's eyes just as they were looking at two large watermelons that were sitting on the lawn just outside the library. Ann shook her head at her in pity and in shame.  
"Well... I just felt sorry for him. I felt that he needed the money, so... so I...."  
"So you bought them. He ripped you off, Maria!!"  
"I'm sorry...." little Maria backed down, folding her hands behind her back and hanging her head low.  
"Hey Ann, what's going on? Hi, Maria!" rang Jack's voice, and he himself approached them in a cheerful manner, but his face fell when he saw the looks of distress on their faces. "What's happened here?"  
"That stupid salesman just ripped Maria off. What are we going to do with these two watermelons that she bought?" Ann looked at Jack desperately, then was quick to admire the way he handled problems like this that hit so suddenly.  
"Well, how about if I buy one from you, Maria?" his gaze fell on the library receptionist, and Maria's face colored. So she wasn't the only girl to fall for Jack's charm, after all.  
"That's a good idea," added Ann. "Here's 150 G. I'll take one for dessert tonight." Somehow she felt more connected with Jack even after a simple helping act from one friend to another. It was almost as if Jack and Ann were working as one team to help Maria, even though she privately knew that was not true.  
"Wow, thanks!!" Jack said brightly as he held the other in his arms. "I really like this. Thank you, Maria." It was comical to see him walk and carry the heavy watermelon at the same time, smooth and slippery in the grasp of his sweaty palms and fingers. He really was working harder. Maybe choosing to restore his grandfather's farm was a change for the better after all.  
Subconsciously they began walking in the same direction together, watermelons in hand and everything. Ann once again felt like they were working as a team, and thought of how fun it felt. She was glad that they had become such (very) good friends.  
"Sometimes I wish I could do something for her," declared Jack out of the blue as they turned the corner by the midwife's house, moving oddly as he bore the watermelon.  
"Maria? Yeah, she's really nice." Ann told herself firmly before she went to sleep last night that she and Jack would remain friends-- there would be fewer disappointments that way, and romance wasn't the kind of fun that she was used to-- but she couldn't help wondering if he accidentally let on that he liked Maria. "But she has a tendency to back down; she doesn't speak up for herself and that's what makes me mad. Not at her, but at those who try to take advantage of her the way that ignoramus of a salesman did."  
"I've noticed," Jack looked straight ahead, into the thin air as if he could see Maria in it and was scrutinizing her. "Not like you, Ann."  
The way he said it made her heart hammer. She pretended to look like she wasn't brooding over it, and said nothing.  
"I mean, if she could just speak up for once and come out and have a good time once in a while," he continued, then added, looking at her, "then she could have something like... oh, what you and I are."  
Ann longed to hear more but tried to convince herself that he was implying that they were just friends. They came to the end of the dirt path and it was straight to the Harvest Farm and right to Green Ranch. Ann sighed frustratedly as she figured out that they would have to separate soon. Or maybe not if he didn't have to, but she always resorted away from wishful thinking to avoid disappointment. The sun was already making its way on the opposite side and she guessed that it was almost 5:00.  
"W-what do you mean, Jack?" she burst out when they stood near the Flower Bud Village sign, then mentally cursed at herself for stalling him. She couldn't help it; she longed to know.  
Much to her surprise, he blushed!  
"It--It's just that, you're such a fun person to be with, Ann. I've noticed that from the very beginning. You're so outspoken, and... and you never get embarrassed! I like how you don't hide anything from me, and I'm glad I've gotten to be such close friends with you," he said honestly, trying to be as straightforward as she was.  
Ha! There's a lot I'm hiding from you, trust me.  
"Oh, no! Well, I--uh--I've gotta go, Ann. But I'll see you at the Harvest Festival on the 12th," Jack said, waving and running off, seeing that it was past five already.  
Ann barely felt the weight of the watermelon, much less her own weight. She wondered just what the heck Jack meant, but then decided to take it in a very good way. She felt very, very good about how today went, and as she walked home she started thinking about how he remembered the Harvest Festival on the 12th, and just maybe he might ask her to dance with him.  
  
Dessert started off wonderfully. After a full dinner that Gray cooked she just had enough room for the watermelon she bought from Maria, and felt especially good because she and Jack paid her a total of more than she had bought them from the salesman for. Gray and Hall had already left the table, declining her offer for a piece of the watermelon, so she'd tied a cloth napkin around her neck as if she were in a pie eating contest and examined the whole melon with a large knife in her hand.  
Midway through her third medium-sized slice of the naturally-sweet goodness, and the happiness of spitting out the black seeds into the sink drain, Gray came up to the table and sat down in the lantern light.  
"I saw you walking with Jack today," he said, keeping on his trademark solemn look. Only tonight Ann couldn't help noticed that he looked a little more pissed off than usual.  
"Yeah, and? So?" Ann continued making disturbing slurping noises with the watermelon juice when she reached the green part at the bottom of her third piece.  
"Did he give you that watermelon?" Gray didn't blink once, and it seemed almost like his mouth wasn't moving. His blue eyes looked just like hers except he held his in a fixed cruel expression, piercing into her.  
"No. We bought these from Maria. Why?" she looked up curiously, pink juice dripping from her chin.  
"I saw you carrying them together. You seemed to be talking animatedly about something, then he blushed."  
"Did he?" Ann pretended to be absentminded like usual. "Are you sure it wasn't the red light of the sunset?"  
"Ann."  
"What?" she looked at him challengingly now, as if it were a game.  
"Are you seeing him?"  
"What do you mean? What is this 'seeing him' all about?" She cocked an eyebrow at him and was near getting angry. Since when was it his place to interrogate her about her personal affairs? She found it more acceptable if Hall did that, which she knew he wouldn't do for a long time anyway.  
"That is what I would like to ask you. What I mean is, do you two like each other? Because, although hard to believe, I think he likes you! And I don't want him to hang around you like that."  
"Why not????" she practically exploded.  
"I told you Ann, He-Is-A-City-Boy. He's in it for absolutely nothing but a girl like you to take advantage of, and maybe a change of scenery. That is the only thing that separates him from a tourist."  
"Take advantage of???? And I've never even heard such harsh talk from Dad!!!" Ann put a stop to eating her watermelon and clutched the wooden handle of the knife in her hand, almost pounding the end of it into the table.  
"Be logical, Ann. Jack has no idea what it's like to live in our village. In fact, he has no idea how to run a farm. I doubted him in the beginning, but I left him alone about it. But now that I see him being a total sleaze around you, I don't want-"  
"I will NOT let you talk that way about my friend!!" Ann said firmly, wiping her mouth, dropping the knife onto the platter and standing up to meet his eye level.  
"He is using you to restore his grandfather's farm!!!!!!!!!" Gray had never yelled like that, but from the way he was doing so, it sounded more like he was being a jerk than a caring big brother. Gray didn't know Jack. It wasn't his place to judge at all. "Suppose he charms his way into making you accept the blue feather from him. Then what? Soon people in town will be saying that Ann from Green Ranch--yes, the sensible one!!-- was bribed into having Jack's horse win the Local Horse Race, and who knows what else!! Besides, he is not from a hard-working background. Have you seen his father when he came by here early this spring?"  
"YOU IGNORAMUS!!!!" Ann yelled. "Jack is kind and gentle and smart, he loves animals, he is definitely more fun to be with than you, and Popuri likes him!!" She took her best guess at whom Gray would like, and used it as her best defense. "So if I like Jack, that's entirely my affair, and you... shouldn't be... involved in it." She shut her mouth fast as soon as she finished her sentence, having blurted it out to the last person she would have wanted to---Gray. Her brother. The one she had been fond of for years and years, and he had become such a jerk. What's more, she also admitted her crush on Jack to herself.  
"Fine," Gray said through bared, gritted teeth. "Maybe he'll back off when you are married and he finds out that you can't cook."  
Tears had begun in Ann's eyes before but now she cried harder than she'd cried in a long time. So much for her simultaneous thoughts of, "No, no, I won't let him ruin the taste of this good watermelon..." and her internal decision to keep her infatuation to herself.  
Gray became frightened at his tough sister's tears and added quickly, "Now Ann, you know that what I said is for your own good. I didn't mean to ruin your... your happiness you feel from him, but... I'm just worried about you, and---and----well I'm trying to be a good brother and I never thought that you would feel this way about a boy so soon and...sometimes I forget you're sixteen!... It's okay Ann, you can make fun of me and tell the whole world I like Popuri, it's okay..." But Ann still kept sobbing.  
"What's going on here? Ann? Gray? Are you guys okay?" Hall came out of his office with a caring, tender look on his face they'd both never seen before. It was such an upsetting evening for Ann; this sudden change in Hall definitely didn't help. It made her feel like this was such a big situation that everyone had to know about.  
"Dad," Ann whimpered, catching herself being such a wimp, "Gray has a problem with the friends I make and the people I choose to talk to, and he's insulting my closest friend! It's not right, Dad, if only you heard what he said...."  
"I just suspect that Ann is being taken advantage of and I tried to be a little hard on her so that she would stay safe, that's all. I really didn't want to hurt her feelings or make her cry... Dad," Gray said fearfully when Hall looked at him. "Honest, I didn't."  
"I believe you both," Hall said, his face looking more tired than stern. In the lantern light Ann and Gray thought they saw silver-gray hairs on their father and were all the more frightened by how long they had been faking that their family was falling apart. "But, son, you know that the subject of her affairs with others is to her own discretion, right?"  
"Yes, sir. But I couldn't help being worried. I know that she is sixteen now and should make decisions for herself-" Gray looked at his sister sympathetically, almost as if he could cry himself.  
"Good, because that was the next thing I was going to ask you. Ann..." Hall looked at his daughter in a way that he hadn't looked at her since that one day when his departed wife held her in her arms. Gray left discreetly, sensing that all that had to be said to him was said.  
"I'm--I'm sorry for crying like this, Dad," Ann whimpered, wiping her face. "I'm being such a wimp right now."  
"No, you're not, honey. You're being a girl," he said calmly, taking her into his arms. "Aw, Ann, now when was the last time I held you like this?"  
"I don't know," she said as she calmed down. Her father, her very best friend, soothed her.  
"It's okay, stubborn. You cry as long as you need to."  
"I'm okay now, Dad. Thank you so much."  
"Ann?"  
"Hmm?" she stepped back, looking up at his dark eyes.  
"This was... about Jack, wasn't it?"  
"Yes, sir."  
"Well, Ann, I always anticipated discussing this with you in a different way, but when it comes to boys in general--I'm not saying you're involved with Jack or anything-- you have more freedom than you did before, because you are sixteen. I just hope that if something goes wrong with the way a boy is treating you, you'll come see me."  
"Of course, Dad. And Jack won't ever treat me badly, you can trust that."  
"I know that, honey, and I trust that. Ann... you look so much like your mother now."  
"That's what Gray says."  
"I know. Now Ann, you mind Gray sometimes, won't you? Please?"  
"I always have." She hugged him again and wrapped the watermelon to place it in the refrigerator, and when she had done so, she got ready for bed with her usual routine of keeping her mother's cross necklace on, kneeling to pray before getting into bed, and tucking the gold cross in her top so that it wouldn't get lost when she slept with it on. Ann fell asleep with the kind of tranquility that comes when a girl admits she loves a young man and ends her day by dreaming about him. 


	7. Chapter 7

Of course, even through her crush on Jack, Ann remained true to herself. Her feelings never got in the way of what she was accustomed to doing, but only added to her list of what was important to her. Her hopes on the next horse race were more flexible-- now the only winners in her life that she would accept were Cliffgard and Jack's horse, Bright.  
In addition, her father bought a new sheep that Ann adored and named Snowy, and it was unofficial but all three members of the family privately knew that the new sheep was hers, and that was that. Many other various things happened on their farm that were of little importance but still kept her mind clear and at the same time occupied. It was a feeling of contentment and anticipation at the same time. It was almost as if her life was reaching its climax and would only keep getting better and better.  
So of course the 12th of fall came faster than she had expected. Flower Bud Village had a connotation with fall that was about eating too much and not getting enough exercise, but it certainly didn't apply to Ann. Her stamina was better than ever after her strenuous work and concentration on Green Ranch, and she was also apprehensive about the Egg Festival on the 20th, at which she could unleash her energy more, but she was apprehensive in a good way nonetheless.  
When she made her way up the stone slab stairs to the town square at around 10:30 in the morning on the 12th, her overalls were loosened as she prepared to eat a lot as a brief reward from her efforts. Gray and Hall noticed this change in her and were proud that she was working so hard and still happy with herself.  
Ann met Karen and little May at one table where they were discussing Elli's cakes this year. It was customary at the Harvest Festival for the bakery to issue cakes to everyone, but each of the bachelors in town had a chance to find a gold coin inside his slice of cake, which meant that he would be the King that year. To little May, who couldn't have been much more than six years old, she encouraged her that she would probably bake cakes just as well, and that there was a chance that the Potion Shop dealer's grandson, Stu, would want to dance with her. She and Karen were privately discussing cooking for two minutes, then for the remainder of their time together, the Harvest King himself, whoever that would be.  
"Ohhhh, I hope it's Jack! Or Kai!" Karen exclaimed, looking around her. "Everyone knows those two are the cutest guys in town."  
"Do you really think that one of them will get it?" Ann asked casually as Cliff walked up to their table and nodded politely to the ladies. Ann rolled her eyes and Karen flashed him that false grin Ann spotted she was notorious for.  
"Ugh! I can't stand him, he's terrible!!" Ann exclaimed bitterly, making a face when he left.  
"Aah, he's not all that bad. I hear he's my grandma's grandson. Heh heh, that must mean he and I are cousins then," Karen smiled humorously.  
"Oh, you're joking!! Please, please don't say he's your cousin, Karen! I couldn't live with the shame!" Ann covered her face with her hands.  
"Okay... but why?"  
"Because you're close enough to be my sister, which makes him related to me in some way or another. That guy is a creep!"  
"Well, it's only a rumor. Besides, anything is possible, ya know. And it is a big possibility, I mean, just look at his blond hair in the front! You mean to tell me that you haven't noted the resemblance?"  
"Well... yeah, that's true, but-"  
"Heya ladies!!" Jack exclaimed, showing up late but still to Ann's excitement. Talking to Karen made her forget that she had been apprehensive about his arrival.  
"Jack!! Hi!!" Ann greeted him cordially. "How are ya, buddy?"  
"Pretty good," he replied, slapping her a high five. "And you, Karen? What's up?"  
"Nothing much. Same ol' same ol'." Karen nodded, her front blond hair swishing as she did so. Ann became frustrated with their casual conversation. She was so full of energy, and at the same time falling for Jack.  
"Ja-ack!!!" called Elli, waving her arm from across the platform. "The last piece is for you!"  
"Be right back," he said, winking to them and running off.  
"But back to what I was saying before. Isn't he cute?" Karen commented, watching him run.  
"Yeah. So full of energy too."  
"Like you, Ann."  
Ann's eyes widened suddenly. "Like me?"  
"Yeah! I mean, you two look so cute together. I know you're probably only just friends, but you two look like you really hit it off and then have a good time."  
"I like Jack," she grinned. "I've got no problem in saying that I like him."  
"Wow! I thought there was something there no one else is smart enough to see! Well, good luck, and I'll have my eye on Kai." Seeing that there was no coin in Kai's slice, Karen came up to him and Ann saw by the way she carried herself and flipped her long hair that she was probably flirting like crazy.  
"And next year's King is........." the Mayor began.  
Ann's heart pounded hard. If it was Jack, she was definitely going to run for Goddess at the Flower Festival next year and take it seriously, too. She always did the years before because she knew she'd never get it. It usually always went to everybody else; she'd never been Goddess before. That pink, flowery dress was only worth wearing for a guy like... Jack.  
Oh, crap. No. Ann's jaw practically dropped when she looked at Jack, who seemed to be listening for the result. He stood with Elli, and apparently already ate his slice of cake.  
Then she thought she saw a flash of gold in the palm of--  
"Cliff!!!!!!!!"  
CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ann could have just kicked somebody. Why couldn't Jack get it? Everyone knew that Jack was the hottest guy in all of Flower Bud Village! Why did they even bother choosing Cliff? Look at him for Goddess' sake, all confused like that! He doesn't even know what the heck he won!  
"Now it's time to start the dancing! Everyone, choose your dance partners!"  
Karen and Kai clicked automatically. Like Ann had expected anything different. As usual, Gray just stood there while Popuri stalled and waited to be asked by someone. Harris and Maria stood close together, as if they knew they wanted to dance together but were too scared to actually step out onto the platform. Her eyes swiveled around to Jack, who asked---- wait---- Popuri?!?!?!?!?!  
The pink-haired beauty nodded and blushed, then put her hand in Jack's and they walked onto the platform together. Ann's heart dropped into her stomach like a bomb and then exploded.  
"Ann!" Elli ran up to her suddenly, her blue dress and petticoats swishing around her ladylike, shapely legs. "Ann! None of the guys have asked me either; why don't we dance together? It will be fun, everyone looking at us and everything. We're too cool for this sort of thing, after all."  
"You're right." Ann smiled and put on her best act. "To blazes with romance!" She took Elli's hands and they started spinning even before the music started, then the two of them left the square together after the dance was over. That was the way it was going to be. To blazes with romance.  
  
"Ughhhhhhh..." Ann moaned when she walked into the bar that night.  
"Ann? Is that you?" asked Duke, the bartender, from behind the counter. "What brings you here?"  
"Ann!" Karen exclaimed. "So you finally made it out to the bar!"  
Several more heads turned to see her, the heads of the "regulars" who were there almost every single night. Despite the bar's friendly reputation everyone in town privately knew that the people who went there every night were troubled or depressed. Which was why it was such a surprise to see free-spirited Ann there. She was just glad that her father and brother weren't there tonight.  
"One beer, please," Ann requested of Duke. The bartender gave her a strange look but it was still all the more polite. His look said all that he was thinking and for that reason Ann grew short-tempered. To her, he was beginning to look strange himself, with his gray hair, black eyebrows and purple vest. He suddenly had a look about him that suggested that he thought he was better than everyone else in the little countryside village.  
"You're not quite seventeen yet, are you, Ann?" he asked softly. Seventeen was the age that young people were expected to be allowed to drink, but as hardly anyone in town was drunk except for Gotz, Karen's father, the "legal drinking age" wasn't commonly practiced.  
"Oh, come on, like Flower Bud Village is going to enforce that," Karen said sarcastically. "Besides, Ann comes here every New Year's party and she's fine! Here ya go Ann," she delivered her friend a tall glass of beer. The brown-haired girl pulled up a chair at Ann's table and leaned forward with her elbows resting on the old wood on which carvings bearing messages like "Lillia--Harvest Goddess 1987" were made long ago. "Tonight you can drink all you want, until you have no troubles at all." She winked at Ann, who wondered automatically just what was going on.  
"What do you mean?" Ann asked. She had barely taken a sip from her glass. Maybe Karen had been drinking, and that was the reason why she was so talkative this evening.  
"Don't you think alcohol is a magic liquid that makes everyone happy?" Karen sighed blissfully. "Those who drink it never fail to have a good time."  
"Until they ride a horse," Ann joked.  
"All joking aside, though, Ann," Karen leaned farther in. "I know why you're here. The only reason that I can think of for you to come to the bar after the Harvest Festival is because of Jack."  
"Jack?!" Ann jumped. "Wh-what makes you say that?" Cold sweat from the glass was running down the sides of her hands and she crossed her ankles under the table like an innocent schoolgirl. As if she was being interrogated, the flourescent lights above her head burned into her skin and she grew more uncomfortable by the second.  
"Oh, I know how you feel, honey. To see the guy you're crushing on chase after Popuri..."  
"That's not my problem. Really, it isn't. It's--it's Gray...."  
"I don't think so. Now, why didn't you say anything to Jack when it was time to dance?"  
Ann remained silent, her eyes prying deep into the beer glass as if she were telekinetic and her eyes could puncture it, and her hands squeezing it as if it could break under her grasp.  
"Kind of like Maria," her friend carried on. "Ann, I think it's for the better, but you're becoming more and more like a girl everyday now." Karen smiled and rubbed Ann's strawberry-blond head. "And that's why you're here; it's because of the change that's come over you."  
"You're right, Karen. Even when you're drinking you're so smart!" Ann's face spread into a wide grin.  
"Right! Now if you excuse me," Karen took the unfinished beer from Ann's hands, "you need a clear head for awhile. Because now you have competition!!"  
"Do you really think so, Karen?" Ann looked at her desperately.  
"Of course. Now, you go home and get some sleep, and be sure to win Jack, even for only my sake, because he was yours first!"  
And Karen sent Ann home feeling more confident and feminine. 


	8. Chapter 8

Ever since the Harvest Festival, Ann had almost completely forgotten all about Cliff, the person, and spent the most of her time training Cliff, the horse. She wasn't in the least worried about Jack anymore because she had remembered how Karen said he was hers first. After all, Ann and Jack had a close friendship that Popuri would never have, even if she was the belle of the village. With the Local Horse Race coming up, she was more excited and definitely having a lot more fun training her favorite horse and rooting for Jack at the same time, whenever she was to see him there.  
So it was quite a surprise when she had finished feeding the cows in the barn and she saw her favorite horse being apparently bothered by her least-favorite person. The traveler, Cliff, somehow invited himself onto their farm. From Ann's angle she could only see him waving his arm in a strange way and looking at the horse.  
"What are you doing to Cliff!!" she yelled in more of an exclamation than a question.  
"Nothing!" Cliff was taken aback, then he looked up at the enormous brown horse. "The horse's name is Cliff too?"  
"What's it to you?! This horse is gonna win the Local Horse Race next week, and he doesn't have time for the likes of you-"  
"He's charming," he declared, zoning out. He didn't seem to hear Ann's comment.  
"What do you know about horses?" she demanded, putting her hands on her hips in a rather snobbish manner.  
"For your information I've been all around and I've seen different kinds of animals, horses included. Cliffgard here--the horse-- looks strong and somewhat smart, but perhaps he doesn't have enough stamina-"  
"Well, we'll show you! Come to the Local Horse Race on the 28th then-- - No, let's make a bet right now!" Ann looked at him squarely in the eye, challengingly. "But you have to show up."  
"Fine," Cliff shrugged it off as if it were a petty matter. "So, what? I suppose if Cliffgard wins then...?"  
"Then you stop being so rude and bothersome, and stop coming up here to bother the animals." Ann struck a confident stance as if she knew ahead of time that she had nothing to lose.  
"Fine. Then if Cliff loses, I get to visit the farm anytime and talk to you. And you have to be nice," Cliff proposed. "Fair deal?"  
Ann sighed. She surely didn't want him over here! Not that she'd mind too much, considering that he had an interest in animals and certainly liked Cliff.... But he certainly wasn't her type of friend either, but then she remembered what Pastor Brown had told everyone at church last Sunday when she made up her mind to go, and she just swallowed her negative thoughts. How would she come about her desire to reform herself into a more likeable person if she judged him blindly?  
"Well..... okay. But a deal's a deal." For that moment she forgot her focus to be more feminine and grasped Cliff's hand firmly and shook it with a very strong grip, then stuffed her hands back into the pockets of her overalls.  
"What a handshake! You've become a very dainty young lady, I see," Cliff teased her sarcastically.  
"We're not starting on that subject again!!" Ann snapped.  
"No, no, of course not," he began to the girl's surprise. "Just give me your hand." Ann hesitantly brought her right hand out of her pocket and extended it. "No, no, hold it like this.... There, that's better. Now, grip my hand-- that's right, just like that---- and.... Good! Right, just the way you handle petting the sheep."  
"You have softer hands than I thought," Cliff looked into her eyes.  
"What are we doing this for?" Ann almost became scared, eyeing him strangely as she was unsure of his intentions.  
"I wanted to get the right footing and start over. I told you my name is Cliff, and Jack says that yours is Ann. I am a traveler, and I think that I might stay here longer--"  
"Wait, wait. You're friends with Jack too?" Ann's eyes widened, then she swallowed hard. She certainly wasn't ready for that. Suppose Jack told Cliff everything about her? She could see Jack just saying, Yeah, Ann hangs out with me. Or she tries to, anyway. She's majorly got the hots for me, I can tell, but she really needs to stop being such a tomboy. That's why I like Popuri.  
"Yeah! Jack is a nice guy. He practically saved my life when I first came, so we're like best friends."  
"I don't think it was a particular fondness," Ann took on a snobby disposition again. "Jack is generous to everybody. He and I were with Maria and we helped her out together, and--"  
"You like him, don't you?"  
"What do you mean?" Her stomach lurched. The last thing she needed was Cliff turning out to be like Gray after he was just starting to be a nice acquaintance. Strange, though, was the way he was looking at her just now. Not a trace of sarcasm was showing in his eyes, and he sort of hung his head in a way that he was looking up at her, innocently. His eyes were a deeper blue than usual, clear, but somehow dreamy. Ann now had an unconscious desire to brush his blond bangs away. They looked as if they had been dipped in honey. The look on his face was honest, and it almost made her want to tell him everything. But, no--if she couldn't tell Jack her feelings for him, then she certainly couldn't tell this whacko.  
"You like him. I can see it in your eyes. Just like a cow, when its eyes tell you that it's been hurt or upset, or when something's gone wrong." Cliff moved in to move her strawberry-blond bangs out of the way, to see her eyes better, and Ann shivered. Now he was scaring her with his knowledge of animals and moving her hair like that when she was just thinking about his. His fingertips felt unexplainably clay-like on her forehead. It was almost as if she could feel in her skin that he was skilled with his hands and had done many things other than hunting innocent forest animals.  
"You're crazy!!" she recollected herself and jumped back, looking appalled. "I thought you were weird from the very beginning, but--but--" she was slowing down as Cliff crossed his arms and looked at her in the tell-me-the-truth way that Gray usually did, "now I think you're even...weirder....."  
"Okay, but don't tell anyone!!" Ann gave up exasperatedly. "Oh, no, I can't believe I told you. Of all the stupid things for me to do, I let you know about it!" She turned her back toward him and slapped her forehead. Soon Jack would know everything, and he would either laugh at her or never face her again.  
"Your secret's safe with me," Cliff offered sweetly.  
"What??" Ann turned around again. "You're--you're serious?!"  
Cliff frowned bitterly. "I have been places where people have backstabbed me and I lost things that were very important to me. After the way that I've been treated, and now that I've finally found respect in this village, I'm not going to ever do that to anyone. I have no doubt that you'll come after me like a bull if I do, but even so, I wouldn't do that to such a pretty girl."  
Wow. Jack wouldn't be able to say something like that openly without blushing.  
"Well," he said, changing swiftly back to his good humor, "see you at the Horse Race then, Ann."  
"S-See you," was all Ann could think to say as she stood there, dumbfounded.  
"You know, you treated him rather harshly there a minute ago," Gray came up behind her and startled her as she was watching Cliff leave. His sister jumped back and then swiveled around to face him.  
"What do you mean?" her brow furrowed and she tilted her head to glance at him in an unusual way.  
"He was just trying to make friends with you," he pointed out, wiping the beads of sweat off his face. "And he likes animals, too. I'm sure he's probably a really good guy."  
"What's come over you all of a sudden? You used to say that you thought he was weird!!"  
"And? I did. But after I saw you two talking today, I guess he seems- "  
"You were eavesdropping!! After all the times you told me not to be like that!!"  
"Hey, what else can I do? It's not like I was going to come up to you two and say anything." Gray removed his cap and made his way across the dull-brown pasture in the direction of his father's shop for his usual mid- day break.  
What's happened to the world all of a sudden? 


	9. Chapter 9

The Goddess that everyone in the village believed in had a way of ensuring that festival days were always clear and the temperature was perfect, even if a summer monsoon was expected or the village received the biggest snowfall in years. As always, the 28th of Fall was fairly warm with no chill, and Ann could walk outside wearing her favorite short-sleeved yellow shirt and overalls. Even Green Ranch looked different this morning-- the leaves on the ground were golden, brown, red, orange, and a few were barely losing their green chlorophyll color.  
Glancing at her watch, she saw that it was 9:45 in the morning and the races would start in fifteen minutes. Her red and yellow tennis shoes crunched through these crispy leaves, and for a moment she thought she could smell the refreshments coming all the way from the village square.  
When she did finally reach the square, she pounded up the wide stone slabs and ran across the cobblestone floor of the large platform, placed a generous bet on Jack's horse Bright and opened the doors to the track, where she saw her father helping the racers prepare. Other people from the village began filing in and scattering about to spectate the event, and she greeted Elli, Karen, and Popuri, but when she saw Cliff her heart dropped and she suddenly remembered that the horse Cliff was also running in the first place. Bright's name was first on the list at the mayor's wife's stand and naturally she didn't see Cliffgard of Green Ranch. Even more disappointing was that one of the hired hands on Green Ranch was riding him, someone she didn't know.  
"Hi! Ready to lose?" Cliff the traveler came up and asked her. Although he said it jokingly, it really hurt to hear him say that because she knew she would lose the bet.  
"Yeah," she responded gloomily.  
"You look... disappointed," he observed, keeping his hands behind his back and his distance from her.  
"I do? No, no, everything's fine. Haaa........." Her voice trailed off and she leaned against the fence, laying her head across her folded arms. At least Jack would win, hopefully. He deserved to win.  
When the race began, he looked even hotter up there on Bright, she observed. The race wouldn't be such a disappointment after all because he was racing, and he was already in the lead thirty seconds in. Bright had the adorable horse look on his face as well, concentrating with his hooves hammering into the track. She just had to give him a carrot and scratch between his ears when the race was over. This horse was just the pony she had given to Jack in the spring, Cliff's brother, in fact.  
Ann turned around to look at her brother's expression, and it was one that she had never seen before. This change in her brother was scaring her-- at first she thought it was the worst when he showed signs of a crush on Popuri-- but at the same time she was happy that he felt excited for Jack. His face seemed somewhat brighter and anticipation was shining brightly in his eyes. He hadn't been this happy since the last time he was on a horse, which was before the tragic accident that kept her brother from riding horses again. He could get on a horse now, but he still wasn't well enough to race again.  
Bright dashed fiercely through the red ribbon for the finish line, tearing it straight in half. Several people in the crowd whooped, hollered, and whistled, and some hung their heads and grunted. It was obvious to tell who placed bets on the winning horse and who didn't, and Ann wanted to laugh and cry at the same time in all this excitement. This was the race that she felt apprehensive about since the first day of summer, and it was exactly what she expected it to be-- a happy and festive day in which she'd have a really good time, except Bright would win. Cliffgard tried his hardest and did better than ever before, trotting in at third place out of the six race horses, and she felt happy for the both of them. Even in her heart she tried to say he was a winner, but it was deception-- her thoughts were now on Bright and the awesome boy who won the race with him, Jack.  
Both Ann and her father ran out there to congratulate them both, even though Ann wasn't supposed to. Ever since her father agreed to help run the Horse Races when she was very young, Ann and Gray had special privileges to come and see the horses afterward and congratulate the racers. Ann avoided the camera flashes and waited for the Mayor to finish his speech, then she pulled a large carrot out of her pocket (the one that she had been saving for Cliffgard) and fed it to Bright. When Hall took Bright back to the stables, Ann came up to shyly congratulate Jack, yelling words of praise and encouragement.  
"Just as I expected! Man, you're the coolest! And you were, um..... You were really good, and I... Well, thank you! And... congratulations." Ann blushed and grinned. "I'm glad I bet on you."  
"Did you, really?" Jack's face lit up like an excited little boy on Christmas morning. "Wow... thanks, Ann! I didn't know you expected me to win!" He slapped her a high five but Ann wished that he could hug her, even just once.  
"Brother!!" Kent and Stu, the Potion Shop dealer's grandsons, ran up to him and began congratulating him, retelling the story of how he won as if he didn't already know. Jack laughed and smiled, then Ann walked off, sighing as she remembered her bet with Cliff.  
"Alright, alright!" she moaned, crabbily. "I know I lost the bet, I know. And I couldn't help it. I really wanted Jack to win. I even bet gold medals on him."  
Cliff looked at her, almost pleased. "That doesn't matter anymore. We can call the deal off. I know how it must feel for you, and I just agreed to the bet so I could see you today. I'm glad Jack won, too."  
"You really mean that?"  
"Yeah. So you don't have to go through with it."  
"No, no, no!!!" Ann nearly jumped up and down childlishly. "Don't!! I always go through with my bets!"  
"Stubborn," he smirked. "Well, I'll let you have it your way. Do you want to go to the bar tonight? Not with only me, I mean. Jack will be there, of course, to celebrate, so I thought that... maybe..."  
How sweet! He wants to help me out! Ann smiled and figured that maybe Cliff really could be a good guy sometimes.  
"Sure, I'll go."  
  
"Of course I had no idea that I would have to sit through all this!!" Ann found herself yelling nearly an hour later. It seemed that all of the adults at the horse race had come to the bar to congratulate Jack, which annoyed her, because most just came to finally make his acquaintance! She felt as if all she wanted to say to him wasn't said at the Horse Race.  
All the yelling from everyone didn't help her headache, which rooted from her sitting in her room before she arrived, looking in the mirror and taking better care of her hair than usual, because she wasn't sure if she was doing her hair for Jack or for Cliff. She had ended up pulling her hair several times down to the orange-red roots, and it only resulted in giving up and just braiding it like she usually did.  
"Here, I bought you this." Cliff finally made his way through the big group of people huddling around Jack and asking the stupidest questions. In his large, rough hands he held one beer and a veryberry wine, giving the wine to Ann.  
"Oh, thank you," she said almost carelessly, stretching her neck to even get a glimpse of Jack. "Haaa..."  
"Are you okay?" he asked, slumping down into a chair adjacent to her.  
"Yeah," she said. "I'm just waiting to get a chance to talk to Jack. Look at everyone up there!" She pointed to the Potion Shop dealer, Rick from the Tool Shop, Jeff the Bakery Master, and even her father.  
"I know. But look over there." Cliff pulled her up by her wrist so that she got a better look. Elli and Popuri were on each of his sides, the two most feminine girls in the village laughing, flipping their hair, and smiling. Ann's heart plummeted. She should have known that she wouldn't have a chance with him. Over the summer, Jack had made no moves to indicate his intentions with her. She had never seen him even speak to Popuri until the Harvest Festival, and when he danced with her, it was still more than he had ever done with Ann. Seeing Elli and Popuri by his sides and flirting like crazy, it looked like---- well, it was only obvious what it looked like.  
Ann only swallowed audibly in reply.  
"Don't feel bad." Cliff looked down on the top of her little head as she sat back down.  
"What do you know," she declared more than asked. "I can't imagine you having affairs like that. I think I've almost been rejected."  
Cliff's tone of voice got rougher. "Listen, Ann. I've seen and been through different things than you have, but I still know how it is to like someone and you feel too distant to even say two words to the person."  
Ann decided not to even ask. She was getting dizzy with the alcohol, lamplight, and noisy celebration.  
"I'll walk you home, if you want. You look sick."  
"Why?" asked Ann. She knew it was rude, but she had a tendency to get irritable when she wasn't feeling that well. Cliff was starting to look extremely cute.  
"Because someone's got to take the responsibility for your father getting mad at me for letting you get too drunk. Let's go." 


	10. Chapter 10

Ann didn't remember much about that walk home when she woke up the next morning. Her head was pounding and all that she could recall was him holding the crook of her harm, lest she fell. She appreciated it last night, but when she thought about the details this morning, she cringed. What made her want to walk home with him anyway!? Sitting up in her bed with her elbows propped up on her knees and her fingers through her hair, she wasn't ready for the midmorning air that hit her so sharply and she coughed. The cold rush of air stung her chest as she heard her bedroom door creak open and Hall walked in.  
"Ann," he said, bearing the usual crabby look on his face. "There's someone waiting outside to see you. It's 11:30, by the way. How much did you drink at the bar last night?"  
"A lot," she smiled. "But, I'll be okay. Just tell them I'm getting dressed, and-"  
"Okay," Hall sighed. "I'll get you something for that awful headache too."  
Ann finally got up trudgingly and made the bed, then crossed over to the fine finished cherrywood dresser. She opened the second drawer and was about to select from the usual T-shirts to go under the overalls, but then she remembered it was a Sunday, and perhaps she would go to church today. What if the visitor waiting for her was Jack??? Then she'd still want to look decent for him.  
Opening the closet she found a blue flowered sundress hanging in the back. It was a gift given to her by Popuri for her fourteenth birthday, and she hadn't worn it even once. Maybe it was the alcohol still affecting her brain, or maybe she did want to look feminine for a change. It would go nicely with her mother's cross necklace, anyhow. When she remembered her mother, she thought that wearing this dress would have been exactly what she wanted.  
The glossy bedroom mirror in the corner reflected a pretty little young lady with spools of sweet strawberry-blond colored hair, not the edgy, rough auburn, and with creamy seashell skin instead of the farmer's suntan. The gold glint sparkling in the mirror was the necklace, just enough glitter to emphasize that she was a lady, but not quite Popuri. Ann discovered that she hadn't grown much since she was fourteen, because it wasn't tight and the puffy sleeves fit perfectly around her shoulders, which were bare. She wasn't particular about the puffy sleeves being below her shoulders and she pulled them up, blushing at herself.  
Does this look like Ann? Certainly not. She shook her head but decided to go through with it anyway. She kept the white ribbon in her braid, though, and walked out of her bedroom hoping that Jack would be outside and that Hall and Gray were out of sight.  
"Whoa!!! Sorry, but I came here for Ann. Where is she?" Cliff asked her, eyes widened. He looked as if he had been slapped in the face or had the wind knocked out of him.  
"Thanks a lot. Thanks a whole lot." So much for the good humor she was in today! She pouted and Cliff automatically recognized the face. At least the inside of her hadn't changed.  
"Look, I'm sorry--" he began immediately, his face turning bright pink and his boots shuffled in the untilled dirt outside the shop.  
"No need to apologize," she snapped bitterly. "I should have known it was a crazy idea. I don't know what's come over me, I--"  
"No, I mean... it looks nice," Cliff admitted openly, then his glance moved up to the azure sky. "It sure is a nice day today, but it looks like rain clouds will come tomorrow."  
Ann stood shocked. At first they both thought she was paralyzed, but when she shook herself out of it, all she could think to say was, "Oh... thank you." Then she looked up at the sky for a moment, not even recognizing the clouds but simply wondering what Cliff was thinking about. Was he really concentrating on the sky, or thinking of something else too? He was still quite a bit of a stranger to her, and in her heart of hearts she didn't understand why she was psychologically analyzing him all of a sudden. It sounded like something Maria or Elli would do. Or maybe Popuri, if it was something romantic.  
Cliff cleared his throat, but Ann really knew that he was ready to speak and he didn't have anything in his throat at all. He looked into her face but it was above her eyes. Only very few times in her life had Ann considered romance showing its face in her life, so at first she didn't realize that it was out of shyness that he was looking at her forehead. "So anyway, I came to check up on you. You feeling okay this morning? When I took you home last night I saw that you weren't well, and today when I saw you wearing a dress I thought you were still unwell, but for the better!"  
"Well, thanks, I guess," she shrugged, rather confused. Maybe it was her angle in the sunlight, maybe it was the alcohol, but his face no longer looked shadowy and sinister. Now he seemed like a really nice person even on the outside, like an innocent little boy who had good reasons to do bad things. His deep navy eyes weren't hurtful-- instead they were insightful, making her only feel bare and exposed. Why did he look like that?  
"What do you plan to do today? Wearing that, I mean?" His eyes swept all over her, and she only hoped that his focus was on the dress itself.  
"I thought I might go to church, but then I remembered that church service is over at 11:30, so.... I guess this means I wore this for nothing." She switched to a casual attitude, hiding really nothing in particular except that she was becoming flustered.  
"Let's go and show Jack."  
"WHAT?!?!?!"  
"Come on. I want him to see you in that."  
"Why??"  
"Because if he sees you the way I did, he'll definitely consider you."  
Ann pretended not to hear his last sentence, feigned unwillingness, and let him grab her wrist and take her to Jack's farm. But along the way, she still couldn't help trying to figure out just what he meant. This week the whole planet seemed to have turned topsy-turvy on her, and she got lost somewhere in the switch.  
Oh, no. I'm turning into Popuri!!!!!  
It was exasperating. Surely he wasn't going to drag her over there just to say, "Hey, Jack, take a look at Ann!", was he? She would have just died right on the spot if Jack replied, "Gawd, she's wearing a dress! That's so weird!" Or even worse, she could have started crossing her legs, flipping her hair, or practicing that sultry smirk that Popuri always did, although Karen was a natural for that smile-- Karen didn't even realize when she was doing it.  
"Jack!!!!!!" Cliff shouted from behind the fence. She felt like it was going to become an embarrassing moment already, with Cliff standing on the picket fence and nearly breaking it, waving his arms like he was stranded on an island somewhere.  
"Hey!!!" Jack waved back boyishly, and ran up to them. He took of his cap, and although he had hat-hair, Ann was overall impressed. She hadn't seen all of his hair before, and maybe things wouldn't be so bad because he looked very different himself. Like a cowlick, those bangs sticking out of his cap was the only lock of hair that stood up like that. It was rather comical, but cute. "What's up, Cliff? Hi, Ann!" he greeted both of them as if nothing was different.  
Cliff and Jack began talking animatedly about the Horse Race, and she would have joined in too if she didn't start to notice that Cliff made Jack look like such a little boy. Ann began to wonder what it would have been like if Cliff ran a farm. An awkward silence burned inside their ears in about three minutes' time, but then a little brown bird off in the distance of Jack's pasture chirped happily, as if it was a cue for someone to speak.  
"Well, you look nice today, Ann!" Jack commented politely.  
"I do?" Ann was taken by surprise. She was expecting him to say that, but not quite so casually as he did. It was almost like those conversations they'd had over the summer, when they went up and played like children in the mountain.  
"You look like you're going on a picnic. And speaking of which," Jack said, looking at both of them, and neither of whom knew just what was going on. Ann had heard of the summer heat making one want to do things, but the only saying she knew about fall was that people and horses tend to eat a lot in the harvest season. "I just got a log terrace the other day and helped the mountain carpenters build it, too. A lot of people have also helped me out with their favorite recipes, and now that I can cook more things, maybe we can have lunch together!" His stomach growled just then and they laughed lightheartedly.  
"Sounds good to me; I'm hungry myself," Cliff responded, and nudged Ann. Somehow she knew he was trying to say, "This is your chance!"  
"Yeah, that sounds good," Ann found herself echoing Cliff. Jack seemed to be in good spirits today and the three of them linked arms, escorting each other to the picnic table built on a wood platform behind Jack's log cabin. It was quite normal for Jack to act his youthful age, which was only seventeen, but when Cliff joined in, it seemed rather strange of him to do so.  
"And, I'll be right back with some iced tea and grilled trout with cheese!" Jack shouted and ran into his house. He was just as full of stamina as Ann was! It was too bad that the sundress limited her movement.  
"That sounds awesome," Cliff leaned back and closed his eyes, hungrily imagining the dish. "All I've been eating since I've got here were the vegetation that grows in the mountains and fish."  
"You should go to the bakery, then," Ann recommended. "Elli's really good at baking cakes; that's her passion."  
"Is that the girl's name?" Cliff looked out into the air, trying to place the face with the name. "Hmm. Well, I think he likes you."  
"Who?"  
"Jack, dummy."  
"Well he sure doesn't seem like it."  
"He does, believe me, he does. He doesn't seem like it because I'm here."  
"I doubt that. I've been alone with him dozens of times all summer and he hasn't done a single thing," she said, wilting.  
"Probably because he doesn't know how a girl like you will react," he suggested.  
"React to what?" came a girl's voice behind them. Popuri and Elli walked up to the log terrace carrying a jar of some sort of fruit preserves and a pie.  
"Jack called us and invited us a minute ago," Elli explained, setting the pie down. Its fumes were tickling their noses. There was something about the taste of veryberry pie in the fall that was undefined. Popuri set down the jar of her favorite strawberry jam and seated herself next to Cliff, and Elli next to Ann.  
"You look so pretty, Ann!" Popuri commented. Ann expected her to make comments on her sudden change of wardrobe, but instead she got a polite compliment.  
"Yes; it really brings out your eyes," added Elli. "I like it."  
Ann almost had tears in her eyes. She was just appreciative that they weren't criticizing and they weren't inviting her to do their silly things like bake-offs and helping at the Flower Shop, gossiping about boys. Namely, they probably talked about Jack when they did so.  
It all started off so well, but as expected, Popuri and Elli insisted on talking with Jack and asking Cliff strange questions that girls always tended to ask. Cliff and Ann had a few words exchanged but it was only small-talk. Jack would smile at her every now and then and Elli would offer extra slices of pie, but that was about it. Ann wished Karen was there. Karen would know how to fix things up. Anything that snagged Karen's attention would be the life of the party.  
  
"Ann." Cliff caught her wrist as he was walking her back home in the faint moonlight, before she went past the picket fence leading onto her father's ranch.  
"Hmm?" she responded daydreamily, thinking as usual about Jack.  
"Before you go in... I wanna talk to you about something." Cliff's falcon, Cain, found its owner and landed on his forearm. Cliff stroked the bird as he eyed her as solemnly as was Gray's habit.  
"What?" she asked as if she knew it was going to be such a small matter.  
Cliff looked down on her and watched attentively as she turned around to face him, her face reflecting the waxing moonlight and her braid swishing like a cow's tail in the breeze of a light spring wind. Her face looked soft, angelic, and innocent. He wished that he could...... No, as long as she liked Jack, it would be impossible.  
"Ann, I want to talk to you about Jack." Cliff sat on the fence and gripped it with both hands as Cain made himself comfortable in a tree.  
"Why necessarily about Jack? I thought you wanted to help me out with him." Ann remembered that she was still wearing that dress and simply stood still.  
"Listen to me. You see, Jack is..... Well, as you know, you have competition. Elli and that little pink-haired girl-"  
"Her name is Popuri."  
"-whatever her name is- are after him, too. I'm not saying that you don't have a special charm of your own, but you see, there's a definite possibility of him choosing one of those girls, and there are other girls in the village whom we don't know might be seeing him too. So I'm just saying that I don't want to see you hurt and for that reason, not becoming too attached to him."  
Ann's effervescent spirits fell flat. No sooner than when she opened her mouth to speak did he add to that.  
"Now, I'm not trying to put you in a bad mood. I just want you to understand where I'm coming from. Popuri and Elli especially seem to like him, and if he chooses one of them--"  
Ann didn't need to hear anymore. She shoved off the picket fence and immediately headed toward her father's shop without saying goodbye. Cliff clenched a fist to his heart painfully and didn't stop her. He strongly wished he could have taken his words back, but it was exactly how he was feeling at the time, and he didn't think he had to sugar-coat it for her. He hated to see her go, but loved to watch her leave in the moonlight, even when her walking gait was heavy and rooted from anger.  
Ann stomped to her bedroom after a little small-talk with her father, a disgusting act of pretend contentment when she was hit so hard in the face with so many disappointments at the same time. Not only had she allowed herself to develop a crush on Jack, but she went to extremes by trying to dress like Popuri just to get his attention, and even worse, that little bit of information was leaked out to Gray and Cliff. She could at least picture herself telling Karen about her crush first, and that made her all the more crushed by her own remorse.  
Cliff was actually starting to become a friend, too. She had been totally wrong to judge his character in the beginning, but now she thought it was rather stupid of herself to trust him to make her feel better. He was too much of a realist and knew all the best ways to flatten her spirits. Ann was all about her spunk and bright spirit, so he practically violated every aspect of her. She felt as if he had really let her down on something that he was supposed to do for her.  
The other pressing thing on her mind was, she was so tired of losing to Popuri about everything. She hadn't wanted this until now, but she realized that Popuri had been the Spring Goddess of the Flower Festival before and she had done it perfectly. Not like Karen and Maria never got it, but Popuri seemed to be the prime example of what a girl in Flower Bud Village should be. She had such loving parents-- and two of them, for that matter. Of course, Popuri probably had never ridden a horse in her life, but that could have been the reason why she had such dainty, lovely legs. Everything about Popuri was lovely, charming, and everything else like that. She may not have been as smart as Maria, but she had bright ideas.  
And sure, Popuri was pretty-- but at times she seemed so concerned with the aesthetics of Flower Bud Village and not much else. She was a glamour princess and knew it, too. She probably delighted in the idea of Ann being so jealous of her--- and how could she not know it? Everyone else was apparently able to see right through Ann because she had a tendency to show all that she was thinking in her face. There was no way Popuri didn't know all that she was to Ann. Who knows?-- Maybe the reason why she showed such keen interest in Jack was because she knew Ann wanted him. Which also meant that she was hurting Gray very badly. She must have known that Gray liked her-- every other bachelor in town did, so what else was new?-- and she was flattered that any guy would be crushed not to have her.  
Thinking about this as she frantically searched for the necklace that slipped off her neck as she was taking off the blue sundress, she hit her head when she was trying to come out from under her bed. Really hard. Tears came into her eyes from the pain as she rubbed the top of her head, and it almost made her laugh and cry at the same time that she had to bump her head to realize that it was totally not their fault. Cliff and Popuri, that is to say.  
Cliff didn't mean any harm, she suddenly came to see. Cliff was trying to be what Gray was certainly not enough of-- a big brother. Gray and Ann had known each other for too long, and at the same time were so distant. With Gray being the social disaster that he was, he couldn't tell what was going on in the hidden connections with people that lie between the lines. Cliff didn't see Ann everyday, so she shouldn't have expected him to know just what kind of news and surprises made her happy and which that it just wasn't good for her well-being to know about. In fact, Cliff was kind of cool, in a way.  
Popuri was something else, too. For a moment's time she put herself in Popuri's dainty little shoes and saw what kind of stress the town beauty would have to be under, and it wasn't as beautiful a life as Ann had always imagined-- for so many bachelors to fall for your beauty and not know what you are about, to not have a moment's peace without someone suggesting a romantic possibility with someone, and to hear from your closest girl friends their jealousy of you, especially when you see yourself in the mirror everyday and therefore don't think you're as beautiful as everyone says. It must have been hard for Popuri especially when she was with Jack, for Jack was indeed a fun person to be around-- everyone knew that. Jack was so kind and understanding and easy to be attracted to. Sure, they did look sort of perfect for each other, but... suppose Popuri didn't like him the way she did?  
It was completely wrong of her to make such assumptions so late at night-- especially in such a time of confusion in which she put on a dress first thing in the morning! Still, she clung to her ritual of praying before bed and hoped that at least tomorrow would be better. 


	11. Chapter 11

And a better day it was for her, plus even more. The days that followed her were all about watching the first snowfall of the season of winter, about taking more thorough precautions with the animals, and about having Cliff visit regularly to watch the animals with her, as was promised in their bet. It was quite hard for her to handle the cold, and her theory to that was how she had been born in midsummer. Still, it was a quite peaceful time. With Cliff coming over so much, she barely had time to mull over Jack--- Cliff seemed to be staring more at her than Cliffgard, whom came to be his favorite horse, too.  
Not that she never saw Jack recently, however. On the contrary, sometimes she would see him walking in town when she went to church-- and they would stop and have fun and humorous conversations like they did in the summer. The childlike playfulness was still in the air even though Jack would have to work harder in the wintertime. Her crush was making quite a name for himself all throughout the village, and some of the citizens' views about him were slowly evolving into something much friendlier than before.  
One particular afternoon, it seemed as though nothing would happen all day except Ann's shivering herself to death even in the warmth of the animal barn, and Jack had come by at around four to pick up a few more bags of chicken feed. Ann was just making her way out of the barn and into the shop before closing time to give her father some company, and she had seen Jack loading his rucksack with the bags of chicken feed. His hard-worker image was cute, but at the same time it was quite annoying. Frequently Ann had begun wondering just when he had some free time-- even when they met in the mountains in the summertime he would have to run off to work capriciously. Then she thought that, if they married, it really could be for the better or for worse, as they say, because as well as them both being busy, Ann would be like his favorite childhood friend to play with.  
She became submerged in this fantasy as she saw Jack leaving after he had waved to her. They would be working as a team, not arguing the way she did with everyone else but reasoning things out in a civilized way, and as long as they would be working as the excellent team that they surely were, there would be much more free time to explore Moon Mountain, play with the animals, and... and romance, too. That last thought made the rest of her face blush as cherry-red as her nose got in the wintertime. As embarrassing as it seemed to her right now, it was completely true-- and that meant Jack wouldn't always have to be so hectic as he was now. In the midst of his rush home Ann thanked the vast sky that his service card from the bakery fell out of his rucksack. Just as he was leaving, maybe she would be quick enough to stop him to hand it back to him, and this she surely tried.  
"Jack!!" she said, feeling as if her mouth was stuffed with cotton as she was whenever she always tried to speak to him. "Jack, wait up!!"  
Ann didn't know why she expected any worse; this was Jack after all, and she should have known that he would turn around and smile like a little boy at his own carelessness. She felt free enough again to run up to him and hand it to him.  
"You dropped this. It seems you were in a bit of a hurry to get back to work! That's good, and, umm.... Oh, you've collected quite a lot of stickers," Ann flipped the card over and saw that most of the grid was filled up. "Wow! You really do like sweets, don't you?"  
"I sure do," he said proudly, like a five-year-old announcing his love for candy. "Thanks, Ann! Gosh... I'd really be upset if I lost this."  
"I can understand," she added, smiling and accidentally letting out a giggle that sounded oddly like Elli.  
Good thing he hadn't noticed. "I'd have thought you were busy. I really appreciate you coming after me in the snow. Thanks so much! I'll have to do something for you to return that favor." He moved in close enough to where he could reach the service card and his face was only inches from hers. Jack didn't notice, of course, nor did he see put much thought into his fingertips-- his warm fingertips-- brushing against hers underneath the bakery's service card long enough for the heat from his body to be passed to Ann just through the touch of one of his fingers. It astounded her, but she kept it to herself as if nothing out of the usual was going on, as if Jack happened to lose his stupid bakery card every afternoon at their ranch.  
"Nah, you don't hafta," she said, nudging him with her elbow.  
"Sure I do!!"  
Then there was an awkward silence in which he was staring straight into her face and she could see clouds of steamy breath puffing out of him in the bitter cold. There was a look about him that was so adventurous, but at the same time so honest and truthful. His expression was that of a young boy facing the world for the first time and ready to tackle it, but with those clear brown eyes it was like he could never, ever tell an untruth. A kiss was so distant from them, but a vivid and heavily detailed fantasy in her mind. In marrying Jack, she could capture moments like this forever.  
"Well Ann, I uh... I gotta go. And thanks again," he said finally, scratching the back of his head and staring at the snow-covered ground.  
"It was no problem," and then the two of them began crunching through the frost in separate directions, Ann's heart beating wildly as if something so simple had been one of the most thrilling moments of her life. Ann thought that maybe this was what love did to a person.  
Wait---- love?!?!?!  
Surely she didn't love him yet--- did she?  
  
"I am not in love with him, I am not in love with him, I AM NOT IN LOVE WITH HIM!!!!" Ann shouted with her face planted deep into her pillow when she returned to her room. It was only a few minutes to five-o'-clock when she decided to relax for the time being, nearly a half hour earlier than she had usually been returning home.  
Ann walked into Hall's office, which was empty at the moment, and picked up the receiver of the phone that was hanging on the wall. The padded upturns of her fingertips itched to dial Jack's number, but instead she called Maria. In the midst of all this trouble and joy she was struck with at the same time when seeing Cliff and Jack so often, she had forgotten to call on Maria and see how she was doing every now and then.  
"Ann? Wow, it's you! How are you?" Maria began excitedly.  
"Maria, I wonder if you could help me out," Ann started in a rush.  
She wasn't there to see her do so, but she imagined Maria pushing her glasses up onto the bridge of her nose and preparing to use that superior brain. Dear, sweet Maria would help her, she knew that for sure now. "Okay," Maria started. "Tell me everything; you have my full and undivided attention."  
"Maria--- I wonder, have you read many romance books in the library."  
She loved Maria just then--- she could beat around the bush as long as she wanted to, and Maria would give her straight answers. No stupid questions!  
"I had a few come in just recently and I flipped through a couple pages of some old ones. I can't say I know that much on the way they are written, because science and nature books tend to be my favorites. But how can I help you with the little I know?"  
"Maria, trust me, you're the right person for this. Now... how do you know when you're in love?"  
"I don't know how to answer this one," said Maria pensively as if it was a trivia question. "Well, most girls in the romance section always tend to feel some sort of tingle.... Oh, don't ask me this. I feel stupid answering it."  
Ann sucked in her breath so hard that it was stinging her lungs. "Well, okay," she said, letting all that air out. "Here's the thing. I've liked Jack for the longest time, and--- today I viewed him so differently than I ever have before. I've never been... you know... in love with anybody before, but it would certainly explain things a lot better."  
"Wow.... what happened? If you don't mind my asking, that is."  
"Walking out of the ranch this afternoon-- in fact, not twenty minutes ago-- he dropped the service card to the bakery. The service card for cryin' out loud!! Okay, so I go to pick it up and bring it to him, and when he's thanking me for it and crap he just looks so... hot! Gorgeous! Extremely cute!" Ann's pink face broke into a huge smile and a daydreamy sigh followed. "Oh, gawd, Maria, I'm so dizzy and whimsical and happy all at the same time...."  
Maria sighed dreamily too. "Wow, Ann! That's so deep! I wish I had moments like that. You see, I've never really had close moments like that with anyone. I mean, right now I like Harris (but don't tell anyone!) and I know that he likes me, but.... Gosh... I wish I could have moments like that. That sounds so awesome. I mean, at first I thought it was just fiction in a romance book, but now that I know it's okay and normal to feel this way, I feel relieved too!"  
"So... what do you think? Am I in love with him, or what?"  
"Sometimes it's too early to tell. But I think my best advice for you would be to wait and see what happens. I know it drives you crazy like it does to me, but sometimes that's the best way to keep from getting hurt or disappointed. Just wait and see what happens. Later on you can weigh in your mind all the good and bad outcomes, and then decide from there. Sometimes feelings like this take time to make themselves clearer. The Thanksgiving Festival is on the 10th, by the way, and maybe you can show him you care for him by baking him a cake." Maria was going to ask if Ann wanted help from Elli or a cookbook, but decided not to wreck her spirits. A unique cake from Ann was a sign of a big effort, and surely Jack would see and appreciate that.  
"Thanks, Maria. You're a genius. But I'll have to go now, and thanks so much!!"  
"Bye-bye, Ann. You take care." 


	12. Chapter 12

"Are you sure you're still going to try to do this?" Gray asked her on the morning of the tenth. It was Ann's habit of trying to bake cakes for her brother and her father, but today she was making a bigger effort. Various mixing bowls were already scattered around in the kitchen. Ingredients were carelessly slopped around, and she had already broken an egg on the floor. Ann knew he was trying to look like he wanted to save her some hard work, but the truth was that he had no interest in trying to eat whatever she concocted. In fact, she'd had half a mind to buy cakes from Elli's shop, but Hall reminded her that to make gifts instead of presenting store-bought ones really counted. (Besides, Jack would have tasted the difference in the bakery's and a homemade cake.)  
"Yep," Ann said, concentrating very hard on squeezing the contents of a tube of whipped cream onto the last cake she'd taken out of the oven. It was funny, watching her. Gray leaned back and watched, amused and curious even though he knew what she would make of it this year.  
Ann kept three cakes in the refrigerator, having made a fourth one that she could taste-test herself, and wrapped one up to deliver to Jack's farm. She already knew he had gotten Thanksgiving cakes from all the other girls, but maybe he would appreciate her coming over to deliver it, for Ann had never implored him to pay visits on her.  
The cake was so warm, wrapped up in her hands, when she left the ranch and left footprints in the hard-packed snow. Angel-white snowflakes fluttered everywhere around her. Spinning like a little child with her tongue hanging out of her mouth, she caught the snowflakes while keeping a harder grip on the edges of the paper plate.  
"Hey, Ann! Whatcha doing?" Jack called from over the picket fence with a large hammer over his shoulder. He ran up to his fence with a smile on his playful, gentle face. Ann loved that look and wished he wouldn't torment her with it. In the background, his grandfather's dog romped freely in the snow, wagging its little tail. His farm looked like a fantasy world to her-- she would love to live there, with him, and share the success, away from the stagnant life at Green Ranch.  
"Nothing," she answered quickly, blushing. "Oh, here--" and she handed him the cake she made. "I'll tell you though, I-- uh-- I'm not a good cook, so I'm not sure it came out very good. But I made it for you for the Thanksgiving celebration, so... well, they say it's the thought that counts, so...."  
"Wow, that looks great!" Jack eyed it hungrily, accepting it. "Thanks so much! I haven't gotten anything from anybody all day because I've been out with the carpenters." He immediately unwrapped it and put a piece of it into his mouth. As he was chewing, he continued on, "The earthquake opened up a huge hot water source up in the mountain so I'm helping them turning into a hot spring for rejuvenation. It'll be great when we're finished."  
Maybe Jack was too hungry to notice the taste, because Ann's eyes widened when he broke off another piece and began eating it. It was also quite a surprise that Elli or Popuri hadn't chased him up the mountain trying to find him.  
Deciding to be honest, Ann added, "Well, Elli and Popuri probably baked you a cake too. Why don't you go into town and find them?"  
"Nope, that's alright. I'm happy with the cake that came from you. I've got work to do on the farm too, so I haven't got much time to go into town.... Oh Ann, this doesn't taste too bad! Did Elli teach you to bake this?" Jack looked at her, not showing any signs of false interest just to flatter her.  
"No," she said, "I did it all by myself. That's why it's a little lopsided..... Gray and my dad never like the cakes I bake for them. That's why I don't cook much. Gray normally does all the cooking around the house. I only know how to cook three things."  
"Well, the cakes are pretty good, to start. If Gray and your dad don't want the ones you made, I'd be happy to take them off your hands!" He finished the slice and licked the frosting off his fingers. "That was alright for a start. What three things? Could you show me?"  
"I do have one recipe here I can give to you. I've already memorized it, so you can have it. It's the easiest dish I ever made, but my father and brother don't want to eat it all the time." Out of the pocket of her overalls she produced him a piece of paper that seemed to be folded and unfolded a thousand times over, but in ink, although faded from the creases, was a recipe she had written for old-fashioned mashed potatoes.  
"That sounds good! Thanks, Ann! Listen, how would you like to-"  
Ann listened intently as if it were the final five minutes of her life, but Jack was interrupted by Popuri running down the path from the center of town with a wrapped cake in her hands, Ann noticed that it was beautiful. It wasn't just the cake itself with the flowers made from frosting, but the pink plastic wrap spread over it, and Popuri herself-- that oh-so-familiar flash of springtime pink in the wintertime.  
"Jack!!" she called one more time. When she approached, she shoveled it all into his arms. "Want some Thanksgiving cake? I mean, I know it's not much, but we had a lot left over. You see, I sent a few to my father, who's down south for the winter. I sent him the best and worse, you know, since he's not here on the best and worst days of fall and winter. I guess it was a mean thing to do, but--- Oh, hi Ann!" Popuri panted in between bubbly chatter.  
"Hi Popuri," Ann replied softly, suppressing a deep sigh.  
"Thank you, Popuri," Jack said graciously, and to Ann's joy he did not immediately unwrap it and begin eating. "I'll save this in my refrigerator and have it when it's one of my best or worse days," he added jokingly. "Ha ha..." His voice trailed off as his eyes skimmed from Ann to Popuri and back.  
"So, what is it you were going to ask me, Jack?" Ann asked, longing for Popuri to hear him ask her to do something with him and back off.  
"Hmm?" Popuri looked at both of them dazedly, as if everything in the world were flowery and pleasant.  
"Oh, I forget!" Jack snapped his fingers, almost as if he hadn't forgotten but wished to ignore something important that he had to do. "But, thank you both for the cake, although I wish that I could return something for you guys..."  
"No, no!" Popuri waved her hand flirtatiously. "This is the girls' job, silly. It's the tradition that we give men in our families and town bachelors cakes. It's actually supposed to be a celebration of love, but over the years it's been modified to where we can give cakes to friends, too. Well, I'll be off. I've got other cakes to deliver as well. Enjoy, Jack! I'll see you soon, Ann!"  
"Bye," Ann and Jack chorused, and they still stood there together after Popuri was out of sight. Jack shuffled his feet and Ann simply stared up into the gray sky, scattering its cold white confetti onto the ground; she wondered just what Jack was about to ask her. It would have been great if he would have asked her out, or even if it was just an outing in the mountain. She missed him when he was busy and for him to forget what he was going to say irritated her immensely.  
"I was saying," Jack finally spoke up in the cold silence, "that maybe, if you wanted to, we could go to the bakery sometime and Elli could help us out. With baking, I mean. I'm sure that one day, your cakes will be just as good as hers! You two could cook for me," he laughed.  
Ann wished she had an obligation to cook for him, taking his joke seriously.  
"Sure!" she volunteered. He laughed again and so did she, just to break the awkward silence.  
"I'll leave you to get back to work," she said a moment later, almost in a gloomy way.  
"That's considerate of you. Thank you." She left him to say only that, when suddenly he reached out and grabbed her by the wrist. Ann shivered and turned around sharply. "Oh, and if you want to know the truth," Jack said, his clear brown eyes meeting her blue ones. She hoped that it was going to be on the topic about themselves for a change, but he finished with, "I don't really want Popuri's cake."  
Ann laughed out loud, joyously. She felt like she had triumphed. "Why's that?"  
"I've tried her cakes before. The frosting is too sugary-sweet!" The both of them laughed as if it was the funniest thing they'd seen in a long time, then Ann told him she'd see him later sometime and they walked in separate directions. She felt as if she had gone there for absolutely nothing, and she also couldn't help wondering if he had any private thoughts on how bad her cake had been. 


	13. Chapter 13

"No, no, no, that's never going to work," Gray teased her even in the middle of the harsh, somber cold. Snow had just piled itself higher and higher yesterday, blanketing the village with a hard-packed frost. The sky went from a blunt grayish color to its usual blinding white, and Ann grunted to herself, standing before the race track that had the snow blown off but still had slush around the edges. She went without her mittens again and her fingers numbed, but she kept cracking her knuckles and expecting revenge on her brother; sandy-brown colored little Spunky was going to win the Dog Race and Ann would walk home with more medals than Gray.  
  
It was a surprise in itself to even spot her brother at the Annual Dog Races. He hadn't watched one in so long-the last he did, Ann could not remember-since he claimed he was always so busy. Busy doing what, he hadn't cared to tell her either, but he was here today, and she had to keep up her competitiveness to keep him coming up here every following Winter 19th, too.   
  
The races wouldn't start for at least fifteen minutes, and looking around her, Ann saw Popuri and a few other people who had come to watch the race, including-Karen!?  
  
"Karen!" she hollered, cupping her numb hands for her voice to carry in the raw, crisp air. "Whatcha doin' out here?"  
  
Karen, crunching through the snow in her custom brown boots, smiled whimsically with the little blond hair she had framing her face and the chestnut-brown length of it falling back behind her shoulders. Her green eyes seemed like they had just opened from a deep sleep, but her rarely-ever-seen grin was present to show that she was living comfortably for a change. Or maybe she had finally gotten used to the problems that arise in her home?  
  
"I just came here to see Jack and watch his dog race. I had nothing better to do anyway; my dad of course isn't talking to me and my mother's too afraid to even look at me because she thinks I'm gonna blow up at her. Well, the truth is, I'm really tired of taking it out on people, and when I do, it's entirely their fault for purposely trying my nerves." Karen stuck her nose in the air and brushed back a few loose strands of her hair, then looked at Ann again. "So what's going on? Did I miss the first race?"  
  
"Nope," said Ann cheerfully. "You like it here? At the races, I mean?"  
  
"For one thing, it's a happier atmosphere than my house."  
  
"Who do you think will win?" Ann's bare white finger pointed out onto the track.   
  
"I don't know. I'm just looking at the dogs because they're cute."  
  
"Ann!! Karen!!" Jack came up running, huffing and puffing and then jumping over the picket fence. Seating himself on it, he panted so hard he couldn't say much else, and gave a flicker of the fingers that passed for a wave. "Came to watch?"  
  
"We don't have a dog," Ann explained sheepishly, "but I love watching the races. See, it just goes to show you how smart dogs are. They push themselves and try to do their best, just like humans should."  
  
"Your dog doesn't seem too clever, though," Karen teased Jack. "He's gonna have to push himself a lot harder."   
  
"I voted for Spunky," Ann turned to Karen and shot her a look, and Karen laughed at her expression.  
  
"You did? Aah, I just entered him to give him a little exercise. Just for fun, ya know." Jack peered over their shoulders and extended his arm out to wave at Cliff, who was standing just in front of the far back picket fence by the concession stand.  
  
"What's he doing here?" Ann scowled in annoyance. "He seems to be everywhere these days."  
  
Karen and Jack eyed her strangely.  
  
"Doesn't he have just as much right to be here as anybody else?" Karen asked, raising an eyebrow. "More right than I do, I should expect. After all, he's only been here for the beginning of this year-"  
  
"The first race is about to start," came the announcer's voice, and every spectator hushed as if the place's sound had an off-switch.  
  
Ann held her breath as the dogs' feet pounded hard into the cold track that had just been shoveled clear of snow, and released it only when she could feel her face turning blue. She held her frozen hands up to her chest and puffed her breath out onto them. Spunky was in the lead and approaching and her heart thundered inside her body-she could feel no other organ! Suddenly she burst inside as she felt a sharp twinge in both of her sides, and turned her head to see that it was Cliff who poked her in the sides.  
  
"What are you doing, you IDIOT!?!?!?!?!!" Ann shouted for mostly everyone to hear. Cliff didn't seem embarrassed at all, but she sure was. Instead, Cliff was smiling dreamily and looking out onto the track again.  
  
"Well, don't seem too happy to see me then," Cliff half-laughed.  
  
"Can ya blame me?? You can't just go jabbing people's sides like that!! I'd like to see you go and poke Karen, and see if I'm the only one who takes it seriously!!"  
  
"Sorry," Cliff said in a low voice that was not thoroughly convincing. "So… you bet on Spunky, didn't you?"  
  
"Yeah," Ann looked at him skeptically. "Look, what do you want?"  
  
"I just came to say hi, is all. Last time I checked, there was nothing wrong with just saying hey to my favorite little friend." Cliff looked down and rubbed his palm into her head. "But, have it your way," was all he said then before he walked off to the concession stand.  
  
Favorite little friend? Do I even want him to be my friend?…….. That's a good question.  
  
Turning around, she caught a glimpse of her father seizing Jack by the wrist in a victorious position. Jack hugged his dog to his chest and went with Hall to the mayor to receive the medal that Spunky had earned. Spunky wagged his stubby little brown tail and dangled his tongue out of his mouth. Ann tried to be happy that he was victorious but she was still in rage that Cliff made her miss it.   
  
"That was great, wasn't it?" Karen looked at Ann with a mild grin, then her face fell again. "What's wrong?"  
  
"That stupid… guy over there… YOUR COUSIN… I-I missed it because of him," Ann seethed. "Why is he always bugging me? Is it a goal of his to get on my nerves? Or is he really so stupid that he doesn't realize that no one wants him here!!"  
  
Karen was taken aback by her comment. "Whoa, Ann! Last time I remembered, no one actually said that about him, but…. Where'd you get the idea that no one wants him around? For one thing, Jack is a good friend of his and he wants Cliff around. So do my parents. You know, my mom invited him over for tea one time when my dad wasn't home. You might want to watch what you say about him, because he's getting along okay in this village. Besides, don't you think that maybe there's something wrong with you? He wouldn't be so annoying if you didn't let him get on your nerves. I think it's best to hold back your anger when dealing with him."  
  
Ann shut up immediately but didn't change her opinions. Karen shouldn't have been one to comment on holding back anger when she herself had been struggling through it with her family for years. Karen had outsmarted her, and there was nothing Ann could do about it, and that was the part that annoyed her the most.  
  
"That was awesome, wasn't it???" Jack hollered when he ran up to Ann. "Did you guys see that? The little fella's come a long way, hasn't he?" Spunky's tail thumped harder and harder against Jack's stomach.  
  
"Congratulations," Ann said to them both. "It was awesome. Not like I expected anything different, of course-not after the Horse Race. I tell you what, it's got my brother really jealous!!" Ann smiled and scratched the dog between his little ears.  
  
"Here, Spunky, meet Ann. Go on, boy, she's not gonna bite ya….There ya go….Yeah, she's real nice, isn't she?" Jack shoveled Spunky into Ann's arms. Ann held him eagerly, scratching the fur between and behind his ears and on his stomach.  
  
"So you're ticklish, Spunky!!" Ann giggled, and the dog squirmed, alive in her arms. Its little right hind paw kicked violently and his tail hammered just as hard against her stomach.   
  
"Alright, alright, that's enough. Stop flirting," Jack scolded his dog and plucked him off Ann when Spunky started licking her face enthusiastically. "Well, we know he likes you, for one thing."  
  
"It's easy to learn the trust of animals when you've grown up around them for so long," Ann smiled. "He really likes you, too. I can tell. All people who animals like are nice."  
  
Jack chuckled. "Either that, or he's seriously kissing up to me for feeding him extra all winter."  
  
Casual conversation with Jack felt nice, of course, but the cold winter air gave her the same sensation about him that she got several times before-the way she felt like Jack was telekinetic and moved the insides of her stomach double-flip by double-flip. Suddenly she noticed again just how clear his brown eyes were, and his complexion so flawless…his arm muscles were becoming more toned and she noticed the strong shoulders and neck he'd developed. Out of the blue, or rather in the gray of winter, she envisioned herself being carried in his arms without fear of being dropped. It was as if he had the power inside to take her away to a place that didn't exist-to a place where they could abandon all their fears.  
  
Suddenly Jack cleared his throat and let Spunky down to run around in the snow. The dog stretched out his tongue and caught snowflakes as he ran in circles barking. Ann and Jack both laughed until they found themselves staring into each other's eyes in an uncomfortable silence. He cleared his throat again and then started, seriously, "I wanted you to be there. You know, whether we won or lost. It's nice to…to have you around," he choked the last part.  
  
Ann tilted her head and stared curiously. "Really?" His comments warmed her heart and she felt as if she would melt along with the snow.  
  
"Yeah. I'm glad to see you around a lot of times, I feel like I can always come to you for things, and… well… here, let's go to the concession stand. I'll buy you a cookie."  
  
Before Ann could object, Jack seized her wrist and pulled her to the concession stand where the Bakery Master was serving refreshments. On the way she thought she saw Jack's ears turn pink, and she guessed that it wasn't from the cold. The rest of his face was pink but the original color restored itself quickly as Jack made small conversation with Jeff, then asked for two cups of hot milk and cookies.   
  
"Are you going to watch the rest of the race, or do you want to come sit down on the stairs with me?" Jack rushed his request so fast that Ann had to replay it in her mind, and Jack pointed to the stairs leading out of the square.  
  
"I'll go."   
  
When they were seated, Ann set down her drink next to her and turned to Jack, eating heartily. "Thank you so much, but what is this for?"  
  
Jack took a swig of milk and then wiped the crumbs off his face. "Huh? Oh… well, to pay you back for the Thanksgiving Festival. You know, the cake. I thought it was really good, and I'm not skilled at baking things myself… if I was, I would have baked you a big, huge cookie, but I knew I would see you here so I brought extra money."  
  
Ann flew into it before she could stop herself, and threw her arms around Jack, embracing him tightly. "Thank you!" When she had eaten and finished her drink, Jack surprised her and did something she was bound to remember for months afterward-  
  
"Ann." At the sound of her name she turned around and ended up in Jack's arms. They were so warm, so soft….Ann remained there for about three seconds, which seemed to her like it could have very well been three minutes, as if he wasn't willing to let her go for anyone or anything. Her arms moved under his, across his chest and around his shoulders and stayed there for awhile, then they heard footsteps and broke apart as if nothing had ever happened.  
  
"Hey, you two," Cliff said, slumping down between them. "Is this a date, or can I join you?"  
  
Ann was in too good a mood to shoo him off, so she only said, "Nah, you can join us. How are you doing today, Cliff?"  
  
Cliff was taken aback by her disposition and beamed proudly, announcing his observations. Ann explained that she was very happy on this day in particular, and Jack smiled at her sunnily, as if he knew why. According to Ann, that look showed that he did know why, and it was one look she wouldn't forget for a very long time. 


	14. Chapter 14

For the days that followed Ann's thoughts drifted beyond the clouds and stars. Thinking of Jack continually spurred her to get her work done, but left her restless when she had nothing else to do. She thought herself pathetic sometimes, sitting on the fence with a sore heart with the decision that after they hugged for such a long time on the 19th, she couldn't face him for awhile, and at the same time all she wanted to do was run by his farm, throw her arms around him and stay with him as long as she possibly could.  
  
Cliff, however, made a big thing of Jack and Ann as an item since he caught a glimpse of them on the day of the Dog Race. On one of Ann's peaceful days he was up in Moon Mountain and she found him there sometimes.  
  
"So how come you don't swing by to bug me anymore?" Ann asked him on one day in particular. She had read about a special bunny that came by in the winter and would search for one whenever she had time, but instead of a bunny she found Cliff.  
  
Cliff looked as if he had taken personal offense, then changed his facial expression and told her flatly, "Because you and Jack are an item now, and I don't want to make it look like anything...you know, bad."  
  
"What do you mean?" Ann's eyes bulged and her face turned pink. "Jack and I are an item? Since when?"  
  
"You two aren't going out?" Cliff's eyebrow raised. This was certainly news for both of them. Cliff didn't expect her not to be seeing Jack that way, and Ann simultaneously wondered why she hadn't started going out with Jack in the first place.  
  
"Not as far as I know!" This was absolutely crazy.  
  
"Well, it just sort of looked like you two were going together, so I thought I'd stop coming by. You don't need my help anymore." Cliff's expression was glum and he fixed the blond ponytail on the back of his head, then folded his arms and looked the other way.  
  
"WHAT?!" Ann burst. "D'you think that I only wanted to use you to get Jack?! I thought you wanted to be my friend." Ann looked hurt and stuffed her hands into her overalls with force. "I can't believe you would think something like that, you're so STUPID!!!!!!!!!"  
  
"I was only trying to help you get what you want!!!" Cliff yelled, and thank goodness they were the only ones in the mountain that day. "I just thought that...if you and Jack were dating, it would be inappropriate for me to hang around. You said yourself that you don't want me around."  
  
"Where did you hear that from??" Ann barked, although she already knew the correct answer.  
  
"Karen. I know you two had a disagreeable conversation at the Dog Race, but she was entirely on your side after she thought about it, and chased me off telling me not to bother you. Are you happy now???"  
  
Something punctured Ann's heart and made it burst into fluid. Suddenly she realized she really needed to apologize to Karen and it was too late. Now that Karen was on her side, Cliff had seen the bad part of her best friend, and he didn't deserve that-she did.  
  
"So I've been purposely avoiding you just so as not to get on your nerves. Sometimes I wonder why I even get involved with your little problems. I should have known it would come to this," Cliff continued, "and you know what? It's fine. It's just fine. I have nothing wrong with leaving you alone. It doesn't-"  
  
"CLIFF!!!!!!" Ann screamed. "For God's sake, just SHUT UP!!!!!! Sure, I said that, but it was because I used to be frustrated by you getting in the way between me and Jack. It's all my fault that Karen chased you off. I don't hate you, and I don't want you to avoid me. For awhile you were just being so nice to me all of a sudden and I thought you really cared. You called me your friend, and that's what I wanted to be!!!!! If you're just going to forget about me like that, well, some friend you are! Oh I... I don't care," she burst and began sobbing.  
  
"Geez, and now I go and make her cry." Cliff sighed and gave in, putting his arms around her. "Don't cry, Ann, I really didn't mean to upset you, I-I was just so bothered by the thought that you didn't want me around after you let me stay for so long."  
  
"I've been so selfish accepting your help and not doing anything for you. You're right, and I'm so sorry," she sobbed into Cliff's jacket. Cliff shushed her and rubbed her back with his palm. As Ann calmed, she realized how she never noticed how tall Cliff really was, and that scent of him. Something made it seem like she knew this scent from somewhere, something clean and sweet and spicy at the same time. Whatever it was, it made her feel nostalgic. He must have sensed the same thing, holding her like that for the first time, because he, like Jack, had kept her longer than she thought he'd let her stay. 


	15. Chapter 15

Ann hadn't been tentative about anything in a long time, and she realized the full weight of her position as she approached the front door to the cottage-style house on the vineyard. An apology to Karen and then a nice talk would surely do her wonders. Once everything was settled, Karen could help Ann better define the most recent stirrings of her heart.  
  
The front concrete slab that served as a doorstep was covered in frost; just staring at it hinted at the hostile, cold and somber feelings of the residents at that house. Ann shivered as the wind picked up and whipped at her skin, and was sure to spread that famous cheerful smile across her young face when Karen's father answered the door.  
  
"Karen's up in her room," Gotz grunted without saying so much as a hello. He opened the door for her, at least, though Ann knew that despite his strange ways of greeting houseguests, which were so rare, he meant no harm and welcomed Ann always. She looked up at the man who was not much taller than her-although he was definitely wider-with his gruff face and cinder-brown beard, and thought of how Karen had every right to lash out if she had to live under the same roof with someone just as stubborn and always looking so upset.  
  
"Hello Ann," greeted Sasha, seated at the coffee table with her hair in the usual meticulous honey-blonde bun, dead center on the back of her head. She looked as if it had been drawn up too tight and it was hurting her head. Karen's mother looked a little more glum than usual, and Ann could only guess that another quarrel had gone on in here and she had come at such a wrong time. "I would have been happy to make you a cup of tea, but I've been a little out of it lately. Please make yourself at home. Karen is waiting in her room and I'm sure she'll be happy to see you."  
  
"It's okay, and thank you." Ann walked nervously up the stairs leading into Karen's bedroom. The wooden stairs creaked under her feet and she noticed that the little pink mat was gone from the foot of the staircase. Perhaps even her room wasn't quite so welcoming anymore?  
  
Before Ann's knuckles rapped on the door she thought she heard sobbing come from inside Karen's room and wondered just what in the world was going on. It wasn't like Karen to cry over her father anymore-she'd been long past that stage since she was about seven or nine years old. But Ann's fingers had already made their noises on the wood door; there was no turning back now, not after this and after her parents just let her into the house. Besides, she'd have to figure out what it was that was making Karen cry. Whether Karen was displeased with Ann or not, it was her responsibility as a friend to comfort Karen, especially with what she's been through with her family for some years now.  
  
"What?" came Karen's voice, soft as that of a five-year-old girl. She could hear Karen choking back her sobs and felt as if her own heart would break. It was one thing to see your best friend cry, but if she's seventeen and you've just turned sixteen, and someone you've looked up to for so long is crying, it's painful on both parts. The door to Karen's bedroom was cut and placed in poorly, and she could see Karen's long bare feet moving in the three-inch gap that separated the bottom of the door from the wooden floor.  
  
"Karen? It's me, Ann. Come on out, or let me in, or something. We really need to talk."  
  
Much to Ann's surprise, Karen opened the door and wiped her red, tear-streaked face with her palm. She hiccupped to herself and each time she did, her shoulders shook. Karen looked down at the floor in shame-apparently it was not enough to have argued with her father again and have been on bad terms with her best friend, so some supernatural force decided she had to look this way in front of someone she was jealous of and highly respected.  
  
"Karen, I-Well, let me say what I have to say first, and then you're going to tell me what's wrong." Ann said this with an air of real bravery as soon as they were seated at the small tea table Karen had since she was about four or five. Karen only nodded and kept silent and they both stared at the pink checkered tablecloth and small tea things that had been there for so long.  
  
"Okay... well, how should I do this.... Okay. So, about what I said when we were at the Dog Race-after I left, I thought you were totally right. I mean it. I really shouldn't have said what I did, and the last thing I wanna do is fire you up, so naturally I'm sorry. I really am. And then I received word from Cliff that you talked to him, and I came to also say that-"  
  
"Oh, never mind that," Karen spoke at last. "Who cares about him. Who cares about anybody. All this hostility only comes from people constantly poking into others' business. Wouldn't we all be happier if we could all live our lives the way we want to?"  
  
"Karen, what's happened?" Ann took on a surprised look. Not that she hadn't expected Karen to have those kind of views on life, but normally apologies were rare in Karen's home and they were things to treasure and value like money or antiques.  
  
Karen's chest and shoulders shook and her hair flew about as she swiftly buried her face in her hands and failed to suppress a sob. Ann gave her recovery time, and Karen's face changed color again when she looked up. "He threatened to disown me this time."  
  
Ann stood up defiantly. "He did??? Well, what happened????"  
  
"I don't wanna get married, Ann. You know that, the whole freaking village knows that. My father, however, is obsessed with it just so he can get me out of this house. He can't stand me, Ann! He keeps saying all the time at the bar that he didn't want a girl and he has no idea what I'm thinking... Ann, he thinks my intentions are evil! What with Basil talking about marrying Popuri off to someone nice who deserves her... my father overheard and got these crazy ideas when he was all drunk and crap, and he's desperate to marry me off. He thinks it'll solve all his problems, but he doesn't realize that the only way he's ever going to find peace is if he just leaves me alone!!!!!!"  
  
Ann frowned. "I see what you mean." Then suddenly her face brightened. "Karen? Do you ever want to really 'get away from it all'? For a long time, I mean? Instead of spending just a few hours at the beach?"  
  
Karen looked up, hopeful. She folded her hands and rested her chin on them. "Would I ever. But where am I going to get that opportunity unless I get married and move out?"  
  
Ann took Karen's hands and warmed them with her own. "You don't have to. You can spend the night with me on the farm. It'll be fun, I promise. Just like when we were little girls. And you can come now; you don't have to take anything. I can loan you a nightdress-maybe one that's too long for me-and I've got my own private stash of sweets."  
  
Karen grinned. "You'd really do that for me?"   
  
"Of course."  
  
Walking out of the vineyard with Karen's hand in hers, Ann walked smack into Cliff and remembered just what she had promised herself-a lighter disposition towards him. But she needn't worry about it this time around-the look on Cliff's face, plus the fact that he was on the vineyard, told her something was really up and he needed her cooperation for real.  
  
"Ann! I just heard from the Potion Shop Dealer that Jack is sick right now. He doesn't want to receive anybody, he says, but I thought that if you went over there it might cheer him up. I mean, after he shooed Popuri away and all-"  
  
"He did???" Karen and Ann burst at the same time, then they looked at each other.  
  
  
  
"No, no, you better go in there," Karen said once they arrived on Jack's farm. She picked up Spunky and played with his little paws. "Something's up if he's gonna leave the little guy out in the snow like this. Besides, everyone knows you and him are a pair-"  
  
"Shut up," Ann said, embarrassed, with a half-smile as she pushed open the door.  
  
Jack lay half-asleep on the old bed in the corner, but before she went over to him she looked around the place. And what a house it was! Ann remembered it as just a simple log cabin when his grandfather ran the farm last year. Now Jack seemed to be not only restoring the farm, but the house too! She observed the door to the kitchen and a stairway leading to the top of the roof. It was quite a comfortable living in here, and she spotted the rug that her cousin Rick was selling last month at his Tool Shop. At least someone was being nice to Rick and buying the few goods he had!  
  
"Jack," she whispered when she neared him, resting a hand on his shoulder that the quilt had been drawn up over. "It's Ann. I let myself in, sorry, but I heard you were sick and I came to give you some of this."  
  
Jack's eyelids fluttered open and the little boy's face he had awakened. How cute he looked when he was asleep! When he saw Ann, his face broke into an uncontrollable smile like a sick child's when he woke up to see his mother with his favorite teddy bear.  
  
"Ann!" he exclaimed, then coughed. "Why'd ya come?"  
  
"Because I care about your health, silly!" Ann said softly, choosing her words carefully. "Now here, have some of this. I bought it from the Potion Shop Dealer, but I mixed in some honey too. Oh, hehe, and I got you a cookie from Elli's bakery."   
  
"You didn't bake one?" Jack made that cute, familiar puppy face and then chuckled.  
  
"Oh, you!!!!" Ann laughed. Instead of whacking him with the pillow she put her arms around his neck and shoulders.  
  
"I'd advise you to stay back. Wouldn't want you to get this cold." Jack sniffled, his nose red. He was so cute even when he was sick.....  
  
"That's okay," Ann grinned. "Well, um.... Are you going to be well enough to go to the Starry Night festival tomorrow? Some people watch the stars from other places, but most of us gather at the church. Elli, Maria and I will be playing music. Unless of course, Popuri already asked you to go to the mountain with her."  
  
Jack managed a weak laugh and lay back against the huge pillow. "Hehe... nah, I don't do the whole Alone-With-Popuri thing. I'll go to church with you." The power of his words reached Ann, and her heart thundered; "with you" seemed to have its own affect that made it stand above all words he'd ever said to her. "Unless of course, you're going as a date with Cliff," he said in the manner she did.  
  
"No!!!!!" Ann wanted to shout, but instead she half-whispered it loudly. "I don't have anything going on with him, or anybody. I don't do the whole Alone-With-Cliff thing, at least not as his girlfriend. Cliff and I are strictly friends."  
  
"That's good to hear," Jack said sincerely. "I wouldn't want you dating him without telling me first." Jack's hand was warm and it reached for hers. He curled his fingers around Ann's hand and gave it a small squeeze. Ann was much too paralyzed to move her fingers but loved it all the same.   
  
Jack coughed again and Ann realized how long she'd been in here, and painfully withdrew her hand from his. "I shouldn't be here too long. Karen's waiting outside for me. I hope you feel better soon, and please get some sleep."  
  
"Thanks," Jack replied, and just as Ann was getting to the door he added. "Oh, and Ann? Thank you so much for visiting me. I think I'll feel better much faster after you've been here."  
  
Ann clenched a fist to her pounding heart and closed the door silently, numb with something that she knew wasn't just the cold. 


	16. Chapter 16

Night faded in rapidly, stirring the dark purple clouds across the thick and starchy black sea of a sky. And what a wonderful sight it was for the night of Winter 24th when the stars were their brightest--in a sarcastic sense, of course. Ann began to wonder just how the Starry Night was indeed the Starry Night when half the town was gathered inside the church instead of outside watching these stars. Her fingers curled in natural positions over her the valves of her flute and she chattered with Elli, also a flutist, for a little while about this paradox. Elli laughed and said this was just a crazy illusion, that the villagers at this time of year felt free to be senseless in the midst of the end-of-the-year joy. Ann could relate with what her friend was saying, especially when Elli got to the part about how no one was ever this joyous any other time of the year, then quoted Shakespeare; "all's well that ends well".   
  
That was when Jack walked into the church. He obviously hadn't been in church for quite awhile and looked around as if to see what changed and what hadn't since he'd last set foot in here. He remembered to take his cap off inside and this time his hair wasn't pressed down untidily. Ann beamed with approval even when he sat down next to Cliff and began talking right away. Nothing could ruin the bliss mixed with anticipation that she was feeling. Jack was here, and not only that but she decided that her views about Cliff had changed completely--he was only a jerk when he wanted to be.  
  
"Good to see you, young sir. Tonight is the night to pray to the Goddess when the stars are their brightest in the sky. We're very happy you could come, and the performance will start soon." Pastor Brown smiled amiably and handed Jack a program, just as the boy was making his way up to talk to her.  
  
He greeted Maria first, shy little Maria behind the organ with those nimble and unseen fingers. She smiled up at him but using nothing more than that receptionist's hello-how-are-you smile, and with impatience Ann tapped her fingers against the valves of her flute. Pastor Brown's usage of the words "happy you could come" made it sound boring and vulgar, and Maria's smile made it seem Jack was just a boy, not above the rest of humanity like she saw him.  
  
"Hi, Ann." The strawberry-blonde spun around and at first wondered just how Jack came up behind her all of a sudden from behind the organ talking to Maria, but when she saw Cliff there she nearly jumped out of her skin. He held up one of his large, rough hands and moved his fingers up and down in a wave.  
  
"Oh, hi," she said in a far-less-than-romantic tone. "I didn't think you'd be coming."  
  
"Neither did I," he replied with a casual shrug, "but I thought you might be here, so I came. You play flute?"  
  
Jack was looking at her and Ann almost didn't hear his question, but she pretended to busy herself with a feigned interest in their conversation. "Yeah! I've been playing it for a really long time, ever since my brother bought that flute for me as a present for my sixth birthday. He got it from the craftsman Saibara, and I started learning the day I got it. 'Cause it was shiny and new, ya know? Saibara's works are always beautiful when you first buy them, but even when it's old it looks good, when you know how to play and you're good at it, and...yeah."  
  
Even Cliff looked at her strangely. "It's unlike you to have this passionate an interest. Are you okay?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah, fine." Ann rudely craned her neck to see where Jack was going. So far, he didn't seem to be going anywhere.   
  
"Nervous for the recital. You'll do good, don't worry." Cliff placed a hand on her crown and rubbed her hair affectionately, and it wasn't until he did so that Ann paid attention to the attached significance he gave to their small-talk. She shuddered for a moment, placing a hand on her hair where Cliff had rubbed her, pretending to be smoothening it out.  
  
"Hey, Ann!" Jack said when Cliff made his way back to his seat. "Sorry I couldn't say hey earlier; I came in late. But I'm at least glad I didn't miss the performance!" He chuckled. "I saw the way Cliff wished you good luck," he said, hiding his disappointment with a wink and nudging her with his elbow. "How cute!!!" he added jokingly.  
  
"No, it's not like that," Ann hissed, nudging him back. "You know that."  
  
"Yeah, I do," he confessed. "Oh! Look, it's 9:15. I'm gonna take a seat before I look like an idiot holding your performance up."  
  
Ann laughed and held the flute up to her half-puckered lips, then began to blow softly, as if blowing the white seeds off a summer dandelion when Pastor Brown began to conduct the song. She almost laughed a few times in the middle of playing, but Elli was skillful in carrying out the notes steadily, loudly covering up for her. When she let her guard down thinking about Jack, she remembered Elli's joke about the embouchure of the flute being like the pucker of the lips after sucking a lemon. For the remainder of the piece she was able to play, although whimsically, and remembered to lower her raised arms and flute when the song ended. Cliff and Jack gave a standing ovation and Ann couldn't help smiling as if she was playing the whole thing as a solo.  
  
"That was really good!!!" Jack praised her. "I mean, you achieve such a good volume!" Fortunately for her, though, he didn't realize that it was Elli playing so beautifully. "For a minute you looked like you were laughing and your tone didn't change. It was really nice."  
  
"Thanks," she accepted his praise graciously, but shyly. Maybe he wanted--? No, he wouldn't go for that. Or maybe. All she had to do was ask if he would join her.  
  
"Well, I just came to say good night. I can't stay out much longer 'cause I've got a thing to finish up with the Mountain Carpenters," Jack looked sorry to bid her farewell so early in the night but placed a hand on her shoulder and wrung it as if massaging it for a moment, then with a few more unimportant words exchanged, left the church.  
  
Ann sighed and finally carried her flute as she made her way toward the door when everyone began filing out slowly. Cliff came up to her, though, and praising her in a different way than Jack, censuring her on her whimsical lack of focus and willingness to laugh in the middle of her playing, but adding that it was nonetheless pretty good.  
  
"Thanks," she muttered indifferently. "I'm glad you could come."  
  
"That's nice of you to say that....Hey, they're right. The stars really are their brightest tonight. Come watch. If you're not too tired, that is." Cliff pointed up to the sky and named about four constellations.  
  
"I didn't realize you knew so much about the stars," Ann said later, standing beside him and looking up.   
  
"When you're a traveler, you see the stars differently everywhere you go, in different colored skies. See that one?" he extended his arm way up, pointing his index finger. Ann didn't see the star, constellation, or whatever that he was pointing at but paid close attention to the way the upper half of him leaned over to one side. She was at the point now where she could ignore the fact that his sand-beige jacket was made of suede, especially since it was so warm when it almost brushed against her shoulder. That spicy-sweet scent she took in also. Although suntanned, the skin on his cheeks looked creamy and smooth in the moonlight. The light of the stars reflected in his navy eyes, making him seem a much gentler creature than how he appeared in the daytime.   
  
"Are you paying attention?" he turned slightly, his left hand still up in the air.  
  
"I...I just don't see it." Ann pretended to have been searching for the star in particular, or whatever on earth was so darned important that she just had to see, and for which he wanted her to abandon her consciousness of her surroundings.  
  
"That," he said firmly, moving his right arm around her and clenching the muscle of her arm with his hand. He easily moved the full weight of her up further, and she looked at a particular cluster of stars that looked like an elliptical ring.  
  
"Looks like a halo, doesn't it?" he asked when she remained silent.   
  
"I bet Maria could figure out what it is," Ann said.   
  
"The position you're standing in, it seems that the halo is hovering over your head," he stayed on the subject of the halo. "Ann, are you an angel?"  
  
"Ha!!" Ann snorted. "Far from it." She blinded herself to the meaning behind his words and chose to be casual and funny. With her baggy overalls and the way she carried her arms and legs in the tomboyish way, she was just as far from being an angel as Cliff himself.  
  
"Nah, you're an angel." He nudged her with his elbow and Ann didn't shove back. "But, I'm gonna go sleep, all right? I'm lodging with the Mountain Carpenters and I hope to get a job there, but they kinda want me back early." He nudged harder to get her to pay attention. "Ann... you want to come visit me over there sometime? The carpenters won't mind."  
  
"Sh-sure," Ann stuttered, then waved and began walking toward the ranch. "Well, g'night!" Cliff nodded and watched her leave. Ann walked all the way back home feeling the same numbness from the other day with Jack, and with a double sinking feeling in her stomach, but the kind of sinking feeling one gets when they feel a premonition in another's intonations and gestures. 


	17. Chapter 17

Note from Vysantha

I tried not to make it so that I'd need to write Notes from the Author, but I thought I'd just mention that this was the last chapter I wrote in 2003. Now that 2005 is almost here and I found that I had written about three chapters after this one, the least I can do is add this one. Thanks for everyone's patience. I promise I'll try hard to keep everything up and going again at decent time intervals.  
-----------------------------------

Ann discovered the next morning that she had been spending way too much time mulling over the past since she had met Cliff and Jack; never had she taken up that habit before then, and for this reason she was ill at ease. She knew it would be hard to re-obtain her peace of mind, but a phone call from Karen opened up her eyes to see what she had to do. And this rested only in her hands.

As much as she really liked Jack, there were too many external forces turning themselves into major factors of her personal life. In her mind she compiled a list of things that benefitted her in being enamored of Jack, and another list of what wasn't in her favor. To her misfortune, this second list was longer. If she found a way to get her mind off Jack and give up even trying, she would only have Cliff to worry about, and that was a much smaller problem all its own.

When she received the phone call from Karen, she took into mind that her calls were rare events, and it was therefore important to listen. Not only for that reason, but also because Karen really needed her best friend. Karen had called to tell Ann she didn't know how long she would be able to bear living under the same roof with a father who never wanted her, a useless mother who didn't make any attempts to solve anything, and a worker on the vineyard who didn't offer to even hear her out, in fear that he would get fired and dismissed. It was after Ann hung up the phone in her father's office that she came to the conclusion, with a heavy heart, that she needed to focus her mind on helping her best friend, and the only way she could think to do so was to make serious attempts to set Karen up with Jack.

If Ann knew Jack very well, which she did, he would take care of Karen and treat her the way Karen needed to be treated. Ann had already had her happiness just being secretly in love without risking anything, and she felt it was time Karen knew the happiness she had known these past months. If she had been a man she definitely would have married Karen, but to send Jack to her would be the least she could do for her. Karen's friendship had been forever, and she had only known Jack since spring.

The last snowfall of the season crept its way in from the north and fluttered around her as she went out into the biting, harsh cold. It was too late for snow, and as Ann was walking down the path correspondent to the Harvest Farm, she couldn't help but wonder inside if it was too late for something else, too.

That's when she realized it. Popuri had danced with him at the Harvest Festival in the fall. Unless she could get an answer to this one burning question she formulated inside her mind, it would be too late to save anything.

"Ann!!!" Jack's voice called out to her when she was nearing the gate of the farm, and she turned her head to see him waving an arm high in the air. "Come over!! Are you busy?"

"You mustn't shout like that!!" she screamed back and went running up to him joyfully. Off in the distance he was sitting down in the middle of the snow, and when she reached him, her heart stopped involuntarily as she saw that he wasn't able to get up on his feet again.

"What's happened??" she gasped. "Are you okay?" Jack was looking up at her and smiling boyishly. He was out here with his ears red as cherry tomatoes and without gloves or a scarf or anything, smiling like nothing was wrong.

"I came out here just for a breath of fresh air, and as I was running I tripped over something hard in the snow. Look," Jack pointed a dark brown point sticking out of the ground. Whatever the artifact was, it had been buried in the snow for quite awhile. "I don't know what it is, but I figured maybe we could dig it up and turn it in to Saibara; he'll know what to do with it."

"Oh, no you don't," Ann scolded him as if she were his mother. "You're hurt. Don't think I can't tell! And look at you, trying to be all brave by hiding it." Suddenly her face broke into a smile and she laughed, her cheeks as rosy as his. There was no way she could have a serious conversation with him after this. "Let me see something." Ann squatted and removed his left shoe.

"What are you doing!?" Jack burst until he realized exactly what she was doing.

"Push against my hand." Ann came to the conclusion that his ankle was sprained, and he must have been running for him to have tripped over something so small. "I'm gonna help you up, okay? Then let's see if we can get you inside."

"Yes, Mom," Jack said jokingly, as he draped an arm around Ann and got up with her assistance.

"Now is not the time for that," she snapped, although she could not help chuckling.

Ann didn't have the time to see all of his house when she last came inside, but now that she had him seated comfortably on his handmade bed, she walked into the kitchen to see if she could prepare him something, despite Jack's childish protests. For the first time she felt like she had a responsibility as a wife or a mother, opening the freezer in search for a tomato he might have kept. She was a horrible cook but wanted to do something anyway, and to her fortune he kept a packet of recipes hanging on the adjacent wall, next to an odd painting of an apple tree. Tomato soup, she figured, couldn't really be as hard as it seemed.

"Ann? Do you need help in there?" he hollered from the bedroom.

"Jack, don't you DARE get up!!!" she yelled back, reading the recipe and following everything as it said.

Cooking was the last thing that she expected to be a restorative of her peace of mind, but it did work and she felt calm and collected when she was doing so. Stirring with a large wooden spoon, she thought of this new dish as a mission; that she was taking on a new way to help mankind.

"This is really good! You liar, I thought you said you didn't cook well," Jack beamed up at her when she presented him the bowl. "Or did you suddenly become a miracle overnight?"

Ann nudged him hard with her shoulder. "Oh, you.... Actually I just followed the recipe. Do you really think it's good?"

"Yeah!"

"Do you swear?"

"Yes. I think you've saved my life, Ann." Jack reached up and ruffled the hair on her crown with his fingers.

"You exaggerate."

"No, I mean it!.... Ann? Was there something that I was dragging you away from? I thought you might have been heading into town when I saw you walking."

"Actually, I did want to come here. I was going to mention that there is a New Year's Festival in a couple days, and I came here to say that it's imperative that you come." Imperative.That was a good word. It was good to be Maria's friend. She learned words like that when she came to see her.

"Well, if it's imperative that I come I suppose there's no escaping you," Jack smiled. "Thank you, Ann, I'll most definitely be there. I was hoping I would get the chance to see you again soon, anyway."

Ann bade him farewell after that and left his house holding a fist to her heart. No, there was no way she could give him up to Karen. Her plan when coming was that, if he accepted the invitation, there was a chance he liked her and that he was available. If he declined, well, there was reason to believe he was caught up in more important affairs.

For a moment Ann thought all her problems were solved, but when she remembered what she had invited him to, it dawned on her that there was pretty much nothing she had prepared to say to him or do with him when he came to see her at the upcoming Festival. Was it enough just to be in her presence? She immersed into thinking about what needed to be said and done, and what she wanted there to be said and done. 


	18. Chapter 18

"Are you serious, Jack???"

"Yes, of course. You deserve it. I want to stand by you the entire time and never let you out of my sight. You don't know what this means for me, too. If we do this, your fate is sealed, and let me tell you I'm honored to have this position."

"Oh, Jack...."

Ann's eyes, wider than dinner plates, strained for a better view until she had to turn the corner around the Mountain Carpenters' house. Abandoning her field guide on the crisp snow-covered earth, she moved forward on her hands and knees and saw, in complete horror, Popuri in Jack's arms. Popuri moved her arms under and around his shoulders, her curly pink hair fanned across his chest. Jack looked surprised for a moment but put both arms around her little ribcage and followed her out of the exit in Moon Mountain.

Suddenly the air got caught in her throat and she suffocated for a moment, then when she came to her senses she kicked up a tall wave of silvery snow in fury and her body shook, red from what she'd just witnessed. So he wanted to be like that, did he? Ann could have very well lived with just being Jack's friend, but when he went and lied about his relations with Popuri she felt soiled inside. For the months she had known him she always basked in an aura of integrity and innocence that lingered around Jack, but now.... This was definitely it, and although it should have been more heartbreaking than provoking, she grew angered at how much she'd been trying to earn a spot in Jack's heart and it was all futile. She didn't have the faintest clue what kept her from screaming her head off, but she picked up her field guide with a vengeance and flung it at the side of the Mountain Carpenters' small log cabin. A loud thump sounded throughout Moon Mountain and the wood door creaked open. Wincing in apprehension for an inquiry from the Head Carpenter, Ann sucked in her breath and rolled her eyes at her mistake. But instead of seeing the short, pale old man with the wrinkled face she saw Cliff come out with a satchel and a crude, unfinished tool in his hands.

"What's going on?" he turned to her, rubbing the beginnings of a flint scalpel with a purple cloth. He had a red headband tied around his head like the Mountain Carpenters, his blond bangs sticking up like spikes. By the look on his face it seemed that he had just woken up not long ago.

Ann cleared her throat. "Um... nothing, I was just, uh, well... What I came here to do was..." She had no idea what was coming but Cliff listened just as attentively. Then, remembering the field guide, she picked up the book and opened the page to the picture of what she intended on seeing Jack for. "See this here, in the field guide? This is a special white pika bunny that comes only in winter. I've heard it's been spotted around here somewhere, and I thought I might get some help finding it. I wanted someone special, someone honest, and someone who would NEVER BACKSTAB OTHERS to come and see it with me. So unless you're going to be busy for a long time, I thought maybe you'd be interested in coming."

"Yeah. That sounds cool. But, um, I'm only taking a break now. The Mountain Carpenters are finishing up the hot spring that the earthquake opened up a few weeks ago, and I'm filling in for Jack 'cause he got hurt some way or another. Did you hear about that?" Cliff tucked the scalpel into his pocket and rapped his fingers rhythmically on the wooden banister of the stairs.

"Yeah, I was there when it happened," Ann said crossly, "but let's not talk about stupid little things like that. I--"

"Tell you what, come inside and I'll make you some tea. No one's visited me here before except for Jack sometimes, and the Mountain Carpenters don't mind if I have company." The magnanimity of Ann's heart made it unpardonable to recognize Cliff's loneliness and stepped into the cabin.

Inside, the smell was musty but not bad with the incense. It was a smell of nature that you didn't find on a farm. Cliff pounded two large white cushions on the floor and at first Ann thought the base of the cabin was going to collapse, but when he pointed her to sit down she did as told and looked around observantly.

"Sometimes I cook for the carpenters," Cliff said just to start conversation, with his back turned. He peeled off one of his suede jackets, this one lined with fur, and revealed a white tee shirt the carpenters must have given him in uniform. "They don't eat much except for the vegetation and they don't cook anything special with the fish they catch. So when I make this hunter's tea, they really like it." Cliff turned back around and set two cups of tea on the table. "Try it. You'll like it. My father taught me how to make it."

"Say, thanks! This really is good!" Ann said moments later after she had blown into it and taken a sip.

"Y'know, I didn't think you'd come and visit though I asked." Cliff sat down opposite her and looked at her square in the eye. Ann hated it when he did that.

"What do you mean?" The lightbulb hanging from the ceiling was growing dim and she had to squint to see him now.

"...It's nothing," he lied hurriedly. "Just... thanks for coming. Now, what about this pika bunny?"

Ann shrugged off his strangeness and went into a more detailed explanation about the pika bunny, the classification, diet, and life expectancy, and the records of where such an animal had been spotted before. "And that's why I wanted to look for it, and very soon too. Spring is coming in just a few days."

"I realized that. I don't know why you didn't try to search any sooner, but then yet I've nothing to do for awhile. I guess it would do some good if I---" Cliff stopped short as the light bulb finally burned out. "Oh, crap. I think that might have been the last one, unless there's one in the drawer near you." He said this in the pitch-blackness and Ann couldn't detect so much as a silhouette.

"I'll look," Ann said, feeling around for a drawer handle.

"No, no, don't get up; I'll do it. Besides, there's a candle just over there." The next thing she could hear was footsteps, then a loud clanging sound.

"OW!!!!! SON OF A BISCUIT!!!!!!!!" his voice rang out. Cliff fell forth on his hands and knees.

"See what you get when you don't let me handle things? I'll find your stupid light bulb." Ann felt around again on the floor and stopped when she felt something rough and cold. Cliff's hand latched onto hers just as she curled her fingers around his palm, but none of them said anything. Cliff moved his hand up onto her forearm and they stood up together until they were holding onto the biceps of each other's arms.

"Did you find the light bulb?" he said stupidly.

"N-no."

"Don't move. I think the drawer is just right there." Cliff moved his foot and with one step, had trodden on Ann's shoe.

"CLIFF, YOU IDIOT!!!!!!!! THAT'S MY FOOT!!!!!"

"Sorry, sorry.... Hey, I think I got it now!!"

"Wait a minute, that's a little too close!!" Ann yelled impulsively as soon as she felt him next to her again, then a bright light flickered and she found her head on his shoulder as he reached up to screw the new lightbulb in.

Both of them backed away immediately, Ann blushing a deeper red than blood, and Cliff's electric-blue eyes widening in horror and fascination at the same time. Cliff blinked, and ran his fingers through his hair casually.

"You got it," she said, looking at his boots.

"Yeah. So, um... tonight at what time?"

"Seven, and, uh... yeah. See you then?"

"Yes. Um, have a good evening, Ann."

"You too. Bye."

Ann left without looking into his face for the rest of the day. 


	19. Chapter 19

Note from Vysantha

Again, thank you so much for keeping up, guys! I hope you're not too mad at Jack; things will turn around again. Anyway, this chapter almost went straight into the garbage because I thought the whole Ann-Jack-Cliff friendship part was a little corny, but I'll leave you guys to be the judges of that. The upcoming chapters will be better.  
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If there was one thing that Hall had taught his daughter successfully in the sixteen-year course of her life, it was about honor and being true to oneself and others. That was the sole reason for Ann's decision to face Cliff again even after she had accidentally ended up leaning on him; otherwise, she'd want to run to Jack for comfort and to hide...that is, if Jack hadn't been such a liar.

None of this, though, would still ever get in the way of her wanting to see the pika bunny.

The late-winter chill still nipped at her neck and ears as she made her way up into Moon Mountain alone after sunset, in a yellow long-sleeve shirt under her heaviest overalls. She was walking at the slowest pace possible, thinking of how things would have been if she'd never met Jack or Cliff. Suddenly she realized that maybe it wasn't meant to be: maybe it wasn't meant that she should feel out-of-place when she thought of both of them, that she wasn't meant to find herself beginning to like both of them and screwing up her life over it.

'I used to be all about ambition', she thought to herself. 'I had important dreams of improving Green Ranch, I wanted nothing more than Cliffgard winning the horse race, I wanted to finally finish knitting that sweater I started, I wanted.... And now this?'

For the first time, she felt that being sixteen really sucked.

When she came around to the hidden part of Moon Mountain, where the legendary Goddess's pond was, she sighed in relief to her discovery that Cliff wasn't there yet... if he was ever going to show up. Either way, she was going to see that pika bunny and live to tell a story about it.

"Really devoted to this, aren't we?" a male's voice asked her through the biting cold. Ann's stomach did that familiar double-flip and she dared not turn around to see who it was. Cliff's presence was painful enough, but if that voice really did belong to Jack she'd just die, or something.

Ann, however, did not die.

"Jack!!!!!!!!!!!!" she whispered loudly. "What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you like all day," Jack said, his brown unkempt hair hanging messily over his face, which had turned pink from the cold. "So I found Cliff, who said that instead of heading to the bar or something you were going to see about a special rabbit here in the--"

"So he told you that," Ann gritted her teeth and spoke to Jack in a rude tone, for the first time ever. "Great. And I suppose you wanted to...?"

"I was interested in finding you first, but now that there's a special bunny mentioned I'd wanted to help!... I can, can't I?" Jack looked down at her inquiringly. The look on his face suggested that he thought he'd have no problem being invited to join her.

"I don't know. I kind of thought you'd have someone waiting on you. Unless, of course, this is your make-out spot." Ann choked over her own words, and even through a wavering tone, what had to be said, had to be said.

"What do you mean??"

"Your fate is sealed. Or Popuri's, whatever. I don't particularly care to remember all that bull crap of yours, but I'll torture myself by remembering enough to know that you are a total creep. I mean, what kind of guy goes and tells a girl who really cares about him that he doesn't like one girl, who happens to be such a total... well, I'm not gonna get into that, and then turns around and tries to seduce her? I mean, what is wrong with you??"

Jack's eyes bulged, then his face turned a little bit pinker. Ann was unsure of whether he'd lash out in anger or start to cry. "Ann... no. No, no, no, no, no, you just don't get it--"

"Of course I don't get it!! I don't even wanna try to understand, but all I know is that you--"

"Ann, listen to me!! I mean, for God's sake!!... How did I know this would get around, just how did I know.... Okay, it's like this: Popuri and I aren't really--"

At this point the auburn-haired girl was shaking with fury and looked about ready to drop-kick him and drag him through the snow by his hair. Jack took notice of this and crossed over to her, then placed his hands on her shoulders. Ann was ready to curse herself for getting so weak at the sense of his warm hands on her shoulders, but couldn't help yearning inside for a sign of hope that it surely wasn't what she thought it was.

"You've got to hear me out on this one, Ann. Please. You're like one of my best friends and if I can't tell this to you, I can't tell it to anyone. Popuri and I don't have a thing going on. I promised I wouldn't tell any of her secrets, but your friendship means much more to me. I'm only trying to help Popuri, because... well, she likes Gray. And Gray's been watching her for months. The poor girl, she can't stand it when he doesn't even say anything to her. For a long time she's waited for him to make a move, and--"

Ann burst out into such uncontrollable laughter that she feared she'd frighten her rabbit off, but it was still such an absurd thought that she came to tears and gripped her sides. "You can't be serious!!"

"You believe me now?" Jack smiled and then laughed. "Yeah... that's what it's all about. Kinda silly, huh? But... you won't tell anyone, will you?"

"I'll do better than that: I'll help too. And I'm so sorry that I--"

"Nope." Jack moved a fingertip onto Ann's lips. "Not another word like that. I can't stand to hear apologies from girls, for some reason. It makes me feel like I'm the one who did something wrong."

"Well, then.... Jack?"

"Yes?" Jack's hands were still on her shoulders and his eyes searched hers deeply.

"Will you stay to see the pika bunny with me? And Cliff?"

"That's what I was hoping for." Jack took a hold of Ann's hands and pulled her to her feet. Without so much as a word, her body operated instinctively and her arms moved around his shoulders as he embraced her. And that one moment, when she felt alive and warm in his large arms, the happiness inside her heart encouraged her to do what she'd been longing to do since she realized her true feelings: she raised herself a little just to kiss his cheek. Jack buried his head between his shoulder and neck and she felt his skin on her, but it was hard to tell if he was inhaling her scent or trying to return the kiss softly. Whatever it was, she didn't quite care right now... she just never wanted to be upset with him again.

"Um... what are you two doing?" Cliff poked his head into the bushes, making them both jump apart like two north poles of two magnets.

"There was a leaf. In Ann's hair," Jack sputtered defensively before flexing his muscles and smoothening out his overalls. "So, um, what are we looking for? A rabbit?"

"The pika bunny," Ann said suddenly, hiding her pink face behind her field guide. "This is the ideal spot for its habitat. I just hope they're not extinct or something... after all, they are an endangered species."

"I remember seeing something like that before in my travels," Cliff narrowed his eyes and scrutinized the photograph. "Let me show you something."

Jack and Ann looked at each other, shrugged, and watched as Cliff crawled out of the bushes and fumbled through the inside pockets of his brown suede jacket. He removed an airtight-sealed package of some exotic dried berries.

"Not a single rabbit, squirrel, beaver, fox, or any wild animal for that matter, that doesn't like these," Cliff explained, dangling the bag.

"They look like shriveled golden raisins," Ann laughed, "except a little bigger."

Jack's eyes widened. "Wait a minute...."

Cliff knelt and scattered a handful of the berries onto the hard frost-covered ground, then scuttled back into the bushes on his knees, then held a gloved finger to his lips.

"The pika bunny, as you call it, just might show up once it gets a whiff of these," he whispered. "Just watch. If it's here at all, it can't resist them. I don't blame them either." He tapped the bag and opened it again, counting them out.

"What are those, anyway?" Ann asked.

"These are called the Berries of Full Moon, or something like that. This fall I found them all the way up there," Cliff pointed to the top of Moon Mountain. "The kind old restaurant owners up there said I could pick some. They're supposed to be worth a lot, but man, do they make a good trail mix!"

Ann thumbed through the pages of her field guide and at last located the gold orb-like fruit. "The field guide says that they're extremely rare, worth at least 300 gold pieces, and that there's some old tradition in the village about the people who eat it together and their friendship....."

"I knew I'd seen them somewhere!" Jack slapped his leg. "I never tasted one, but I picked a couple and sold them for a lot of money. Then I went to Karen's dad about it and he said that they made an awesome wine. They said they'd make me a bottle."

"Well, here, I've got three left," Cliff showed them the open bag. "What do you say? Just for the heck of it. We can try them and," he added sarcastically, "be friends forever. Who knows, maybe all our little dreams will come true, and crap."

"That's not something to laugh about," Ann narrowed her eyes and nudged him.

Cliff looked down at the snow, his ears turning pink. "Sorry. I didn't mean to make a mockery of the village's traditions." He cleared his throat uneasily. "Um... well, here you go. Let's try these things."

"I'm game," Jack smiled, accepting a sun-dried yellow berry. "I'm hungry!"

"Me too!" Ann chuckled, following his lead.

"If I had that wine I'd make a toast," Jack snapped his fingers. "Oh well. To us anyway!"

And the three of them followed the cue, biting into the Full Moon Berries heartily and savoring the perfect taste of sweet-sour citrus and traces of nectar. Ann was reminded of the flavor of that fall's bountiful harvests and the gold of the leaves, the roundness of the full pearl moon, and the nostalgic scent of autumn memories such as the Horse Race. Her heart soared and she looked up into the diamond-studded winter sky, her breath coming out like crystal clouds and evaporating into hot mist.

"Wait, what's that--" Jack spoke first, pointing a finger beyond the bushes.

A rustling sounded and then shadows flickered against the gray-white snow. Ann's breath caught in her chest as she saw tiny feet patter along on the short stubby legs of a little rodent almost indistinguishable from a mouse or a rabbit. Its large, soft eyes found the fruit at its feet and the pika bunny's small pink nose sniffed at it twitchingly.

"That's it!!" Ann gasped, then she clamped her hands over her mouth and watched in amazement.

"Cute little thing," Jack said softly. "Aww, Ann..! What do we name her?"

"First off, it's a boy," Ann giggled. Then she turned to her right and looked at Cliff, kneeling with a tender gaze on the rabbit. "Second, why don't we ask Cliff?"

Cliff jumped and looked at her as if she had been speaking another language. "What?!"

"Well, if it hadn't been for you, we wouldn't have seen him tonight," she said with endearment in her voice. Her eyes softened and her tone was warm and friendly. "Thank you so much. Sometimes I... sometimes I don't think you really know what you're doing, but, I think those berries really did it for us. So I couldn't have gotten to see this rabbit without your help. Thank you. And, I want you to help us name him."

"What about 'Snowball'?" he guessed, his face coloring even underneath the stern expression his eyebrows gave him.  
"I like that," Ann smiled. Her blue eyes glittered and she hugged Cliff tightly, making the fuchsia color on his cheeks deepen. When she pulled away she found that she'd been blushing too, then nodded to Jack.

"Thanks, guys," she said. "I really appreciate your being here for me tonight."

Both Jack and Cliff took one of her hands and helped her to her feet when the bunny hopped off into the forest behind the Goddess' pond. She draped an arm around each of them and they walked out together.

"I guess I'll be seeing you guys at the Spirit Festival tomorrow night," Cliff said, facing the open air, when they reached the Mountain Carpenters' cabin. "I'm the Harvest King as you know, and I want you two to be my partners when we play music. If that's not too much trouble."

"Oh, I'm there!" Jack agreed, giving him a light punch on the shoulder.

"And I guess that means I'm going too," Ann nudged him. "Besides, after what you've done for me, I'd be really glad to."

"Thanks." Cliff's eyes still pierced into the open. "It, um, really means something to me. You two are the only friends I've got." Then he faced them, bowed, and went inside the cabin without another word. 


	20. Chapter 20

A few sloppy notes from Ann's flute carried in an uneasy flow from her bedroom, as she struggled with her fingers to follow the tune on paper. With her bedroom window open, a mild wind blew a few snowflakes in and knocked her music off its stand.

"I am never going to get this down perfectly," she said to herself, bending down to reach the old, wrinkled papers. Through the legs of her overalls she noticed a streak of light coming in through her door, set ajar by a tall shadowy figure with willowy arms and legs.

"Well, how graceful," it said sarcastically, throwing a chestnut-brown mane over its shoulder and crossing its right boot over the other, leaning against the doorway.

"Karen!" Ann exclaimed, setting herself upright again and arranging her music. "What's up?"

"I hope you don't mind me dropping in like that," her friend told her, sitting on Ann's bed and crossing her long legs. Her thin, nimble hands began to play with the fringed ends of a pillow and her troubled emerald eyes didn't lift to meet Ann's.

"No, not at all." Ann set her flute down on the adjacent table and pulled up a chair, hanging her legs over the back in a masculine way and trying to look Karen in the face. "Everything going good?"

"Eh... that's what I came to talk to you about." Karen's voice quivered for a moment before she cleared her throat. She folded her hands over her knees, smoothened out her purple vest, and repeated the process again. "Oh, but while you're at it, I figured I might mention that Cliff chose me to perform with him tonight too."

"Congrats! Are you dancing again?"

"As always." Karen smiled momentarily before the corners of her mouth drooped again. "At least I think so. I might turn up for the festival before I leave."

"Leave?" Ann's eyes widened. "To where?"

All of the older girl's long hair fell forward around her creamy neck and shoulders. She reached for Ann's hands and held them tightly in hers. It seemed like fog settled in her gorgeous ivy-jade irises. Her thin pink mouth formed into a humble, sheepish grin. Ann and Karen both felt that they had known each other for longer than the beginning of time, but now... a world of differences emerged in an awkward silence.

"I, uh... I'm thinking of catching a ferry off the island, Ann. I may as well forget sugar-coating it, as you're probably the only person who understands," Karen explained.

"I'm not so sure I do. Is it your father again?"

"Not just that." Karen sighed, evaded Ann's pleading eyes and began pacing about, her heavy boots clunking against the wooden floor. She swung her arms as if it were a dance of concentration, always flowing in some way or another, while Ann remained motionless in her chair, only turning her head to follow Karen's movements.

"I love the vineyard. It's a part of who I am. And you're my best friend of all time. I will never forget my roots, but there's just something calling me, telling me to get away and find out what's right for me. I hate to think that I'm meant to follow the same boring pattern my ancestors have, tending to the vineyard without spreading my wings."

"...I'm trying to understand," Ann said slowly. "You're trying to figure out what you want to do for the rest of your life."

"That's not quite it, but close," Karen mumbled, fidgeting with the music stand and thumbing through the pages on it. "I mean, I know what I want to do for the rest of my life. I want it to be peaceful, rather simple, but busy too, with a nice husband and kids. Just like everyone else. But for some reason, I just can't start on it with the way things are. I'm under pressure, it feels like."

"The rest of your life is a long time coming."

"I realize that."

"These things take time."

At last Karen settled herself comfortably on the rug before the fireplace, crossing her legs and resting her elbows on her knees. She gave a big sigh and watched the logs crackling before making any kind of reply.

Ann didn't mind. All those years, Karen was always rash and said cutting things to get to everyone, but she never left. Something was always holding her back.

Sitting beside Karen, she draped her arm around her friend's shoulder.

"So. How often will you be writing to me?"

"Huh?" Karen asked, reflecting an uncomfortable, bewildered face.

"Well," Ann said calmly with a sage smile, "in the city, everything is expensive. You'll be working so hard to pull through, to be able to afford food and your new home. So how are you gonna buy stamps when you have little money to spend for yourself?"

"...I don't know. I never thought of that."

"Uh-huh. What was your 'big plan' anyway?"

Karen blushed and pouted. "Um... I know the next ferry leaves later on this afternoon, and I'll just ask Zach to take me as far as he can while on his route. And I can help him ship and deliver things for money, I guess."

Ann picked up her friend's hand and studied the way the light of the fire made her long, neat lady's nails glimmer like the snow outside. "You'll be handling crates. That's a big step above cutting grapes off vines with just a tiny piece of metal. Your nails will be gone and your hands will turn into big calluses. Just like mine."

She held out her own hands and let Karen see the way her smaller ones had become rough and almost manly. They were thickly padded and meaty, and Ann's fingernails were stubs ever since she was old enough to milk a cow. And when she turned them, there was no shine, or even softer look. Just a stronger light striking against the scratches and scars.

"Like shoe leather!" Karen gasped.

Ann raised and lowered her eyebrows comically.

Karen nudged her, laughing. "I should have known that saying goodbye to you would be hardest. That's why I wanted to talk to you first. No one else can successfully talk me out of it!"

"There are a million things I could've said to try to keep you here. But I haven't used a single one of those lines yet."

"Seriously, Ann, what do I have going for me here?"

"You said it yourself. You love the vineyard." Ann leaned over and half of her disappeared quickly underneath her bed. In a muffled voice she continued, "And you're the only one that can keep tending to it when your parents get old. If you leave, you're still the only one with rights to it." She emerged with a large paper bag of candy, forcing a chocolate and a peppermint into her friend's hand. "Enn you wounn't wust shell it to someomm, wood you?" she asked with a mouthful of sweets.

Karen chuckled at her friend's antics, playing with the peppermint wrapper. "I couldn't do that. Maybe I'll just check back on it every now and then, to see how well he's taking care of it."

"Hope you don't mean Kai," Ann said slyly. " 'Cause he's just your parents' hired hand. Someday he'll be gone, possibly back to his hometown to get married and live his own life. If you leave, it would be stupid to keep him here alone."

"You're right," the older teen grumbled. "And what could I do without him?"

Ann suppressed laughter, tightening her hands around her mouth and leaving Karen to reflect on what she'd just said.

"No," she said, dropping her jaw. "You don't mean...?"

"He deserves a chance," Ann said, shaking her finger like an old nanny. "And you need somebody. You two seem like a decent match to me."

Karen smirked, poking Ann's white arm. "Don't start talking to me about matches when you're the one who's lovesick."

"Lovesick? Me? I wouldn't go that far--"

"You're not fooling me either, honey. You're too close to Jack and Cliff than to say you're just friends with them. Maybe you should figure out who you're going to be with for yourself."

"And just what business do I have with Cliff?!" Ann spat. "That's ridiculous!"

"Well, you're being awfully defensive about it. And if you don't believe me, just watch. Things will happen. I know how it all works, and I'll be there to make sure..."

"You will?!" Ann said excitedly.

"Oh, crap. Looks like you win." Karen snapped her fingers and popped the mint into her mouth. "Come on," she added. "You've got some practicing to do and I haven't stretched my legs in forever." She pointed to Ann's flute as she slid her boots off her feet. "Let's just have fun." 


End file.
